Economic Knowledge Olympiad as a way to improve the competitiveness of young people (the case of Poland)

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Abstract:

The Board of the Polish Economic Society in Warsaw has been organizing the project “Economic Knowledge Olympiad” for the last 30 years with the financial support of the Ministry of Education of Poland. According to the legal decision, its winners and finalists can apply to universities bypassing the examination procedure. Winners and finalists are an undoubted contribution to the human capital of the state. They are future managers, entrepreneurs, scientists, employees; they are a source of human resources for all important positions in the state and international organizations.

According to the results of the survey on the motivation to participate in the Economic Knowledge Olympiad, young people join these competitions for various reasons. Some want to enter a university, others just test their knowledge, and some desire to experience intellectual adventures, while only few of them mention prizes. From its very beginning, the Economic Knowledge Olympiad in Poland has a very large coverage of participants, which allows more than ten thousand students of Polish secondary schools improving their competitiveness.

The research conducted among students and teachers confirms the high multi-year scientific and organizational level of the project. At all levels of competition (school, voivodship and the state), about 12 thousand participants take part each year, and 100 students reach the national level. The undoubted success of the project is possible thanks to the work of many people — teachers, school principals, office workers, branch offices, as well as many members of the Polish Economic Society who are on the Main Committee the Jury of the Olympiad.

References:

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