The NBU has summed up the results of the IV Student Championship Monetary Policy: NBU University Challenge. This is a competition between teams from different Ukrainian universities that is hosted annually by the NBU to deepen students’ practical grasp of monetary policy’s role in the development of the Ukrainian economy.
In 2022, the NBU University Challenge gathered more than 100 participants from 10 regions of Ukraine and the city of Kyiv.
Twenty four student teams from 20 Ukrainian universities participated in the competition. During the championship, students were able to:
- take a look behind the scenes of the monetary regulator’s decision-making process and find out how the NBU’s monetary function, Monetary Policy Committee, and Board operate amid a full-scale war
- improve their skills in macroeconomic analysis, analytical thinking, and economic and mathematical modeling
- deepen their teamwork and public-speaking skills.
Each team prepared a presentation with its own macroeconomic overview, forecast, and proposed solutions for interest rates, the official exchange rate, and FX restrictions in the face of the full-scale war. The best projects were presented in the championship’s final round.
During the finals, held on 18 November 2022, the jury evaluated the contestants’ understanding of the main concepts of macroeconomics and monetary policy, quality of macroeconomic analysis, completeness of answers to the jury’s questions, and teamwork and presentation skills.
Teams from the National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University, and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv competed in the finals to win the NBU Governor’s Cup.
Victory in the IV Student Championship Monetary policy: NBU University Challenge was awarded to the NaUKMA team, which is mentored by Olena Primierova, PhD in Economics. The team consisted of first-year and second-year master’s students in the Department of Economics: Mariia Tomilina (captain), Kateryna Lepekha, Anastasiia Nesterenko, Oleksandra Orlovska, and Alisa Sparish.
The team of second-year and fourth-year students in the Department of Finance at Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University was awarded the II Degree Diploma. Mentor: Oleh Makarov, PhD student. Team members: Feodosii Boldyriev (captain), Yaroslav Smakovskyi, and Diana Kozachuk.
The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv team, which had competed under the mentorship of Nataliia Versal, Associate Professor, PhD in Economics, won the III Degree Diploma. The team consisted of third-year and fourth-year undergraduates in the Department of Economics: Oleksandr Khytryi (captain), Oleksandr Lialkin, Daryna Sydorenko, Ilona Rybak, and Andrii Krasnykh.
All 13 members of the finalist teams are invited to have internships with the NBU. The winners will also receive the NBU Governor’s Cup.
The jury for the finals of the IV Student Championship Monetary Policy: NBU University Challenge comprised:
- Sergiy Nikolaychuk, NBU Deputy Governor
- Volodymyr Lepushynskyi, Director of the NBU Monetary Policy and Economic Analysis Department
- Pervin Dadashova, Director of the NBU Financial Stability Department
- Olha Poharska, Deputy Director of the NBU Monetary Policy and Economic Analysis Department, Head of the Economic Analysis Office
- Mykhailo Rebryk, Head of the Monetary Policy Office of the NBU Monetary Policy and Economic Analysis Department.
As in previous years, Elisabeth Curtis, PhD, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at Dartmouth College (U.S.), mentor of the team that won College Fed Challenge 2020 and a team that took a 2022 prize, joined the event as an honorary jury member.
While congratulating the competition’s winners and finalists, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy emphasized how important it is to hold student championships even as the full-scale war grinds on, to open the National Bank of Youth, and to continue the intellectual quest for fresh ideas.
“I really appreciate the interaction between the NBU and the student community. I will look into your research with great interest. Perhaps one of you has actually formulated an idea that could improve the effectiveness of monetary decisions.
We are always happy to add bright, critical-thinking-minded young people to the NBU team. We will think about what we can offer each of you at the NBU,” said Andriy Pyshnyy.
The NBU intends to continue the NBU University Challenge tradition in 2023.
A video of the final round of the IV Student Championship Monetary Policy: NBU University Challenge is available at this link.
Follow NBU University Challenge updates at the competition’s special landing page.