Markham, ON - YRDSB students are working with academic economists to form a Canadian delegation to send to the International Economics Olympiad. The competition, which began in 2018, provides high school students with the opportunity to display their skills in financial literacy and economics.
The students and their team mentors saw that the competition was missing a Canadian delegation, and they took action to remedy the situation. “We decided to take it upon ourselves to create an opportunity where it didn’t exist and establish the Canadian Economics Olympiad,” said Markville SS Student and Event Co-Organizer Andy Wei.
Since the students are angling for spots on the team, they recruited Dr. Yuri Khoroshilov, an economics and finance professor at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. Working with some undergraduate students, Khoroshilov formed an Organizing Committee for the Canadian delegation, designed the questions, and will grade the students’ work. He will also serve as the Team Leader.
Khoroshilov noted that the Olympiad offers students an opportunity to expand their learning beyond what they learn in the classroom. “Canadian Economics Olympiad may be a way for students to be exposed to the fields of economics and finance,” he said, adding students also have the opportunity to learn more about these fields through freely available online resources.
Devlyn Sun, a student at Markham’s Markville SS who is also co-organizing the competition, believes YRDSB students have the skills needed to be successful in the competition, saying “our competition questions will be based on finance and economics, which are two topics I believe many York Region students are well versed in.” The students also wanted to give credit to their economics teacher, who fostered their interest in economics.
Registration is open until August 6, with the competition taking place on August 8. The top five performers will earn the right to represent Canada at the international competition. Students who are interested in taking part should visit the website to register.
York Region District School Board is the third largest school district in Ontario with over 128,000 students in 180 elementary schools and 33 secondary schools. York Region students consistently perform above average in provincial testing and the Board is one of the top achievers in Ontario. For more information about the York Region District School Board, please visit the Board website and follow YRDSB on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
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