The contest is open to all students of Swiss upper secondary schools.

A project entered in category 2 must meet two requirements. It needs to deal with an economics-related topic and must have been submitted to or already approved as an independent project by the student’s school.

For further details, see the conditions for participationhttp://www.iconomix.ch/en/award/category-2/conditions-for-participation/.

Written work on a topic like unemployment is just as acceptable as a film on climate change, provided that it looks at the issue from an economic point of view. Click here for a list of suitable topicshttp://www.iconomix.ch/en/award/category-2/suitable-topics/. If you would like to know what iconomix considers to be an economics-related topic, have a look at the 17 basic economic principleshttp://www.iconomix.ch/en/service/educational-concept/basic-economic-principles/. The iconomix bloghttp://www.iconomix.ch/en/service/blog/ may also serve as a source of inspiration.

Students may submit their projects online via the www.iconomix-award.chwww.iconomix-award.ch/... student website.

As a teacher, you can also submit your students’ projects by post. To do so, please complete the submission form for category 2(93 KB)http://www.iconomix.ch/fileadmin/docs/award/form_cat2_en.doc and send it to the following postal address:

Swiss National Bank (SNB)
iconomix award
Börsenstrasse 15
P.O. Box
CH-8022 Zurich

We will confirm receipt of a submission within a few days and later inform the student once the teacher’s statement has arrived.

A short written report (feedback report) by an expert in the field will be sent to the student within four working weeks of receipt of the teacher’s statement. At the same time, the project will be included in the iconomix factsheet serieshttp://www.iconomix.ch/en/award/category-2/factsheet-series/.

At the end of March, students whose submissions are particularly good will receive an invitation to the iconomix eventhttp://www.iconomix.ch/en/award/event-and-prizes/. At the event, they will meet other students with similar interests and discuss their work with two economists.

Each participant in the iconomix event will receive one of the following awards:

• A bronze iconomix award and CHF 100 for good work.
• A silver iconomix award and CHF 300 for very good work.
• A gold iconomix award and CHF 600 for outstanding work.

Award winners will also receive a certificate from the Swiss National Bank.

The projects are assessed on their quality. Quality in this context refers to the economic reasoning, the originality of the line of argumentation and the relevance of the topic chosen. Projects which deal with and correctly use one or more of the 17 basic economic principles defined by iconomix will receive special recognition. Projects are assessed prior to the iconomix event.

Even though all students invited to the event are already winners, there is a chance that they can improve on their result at the event itself if the jury is particularly impressed by their performance at the discussion. However, no result will be marked down following the discussion with the jury.

For the assessment of the submissions, the educational background of the participants is taken into account. Factors such as the type of school they attend (part-time or full-time) and the weighting of economics in their curriculum (taught as a general subject/introductory course or as an advanced course/major) are considered.

Gold and silver will not necessarily be awarded in each sub-category.

The next closing date for submissions is 1 March 2011.

All entries that are submitted after 1 March 2011 will automatically be entered for the 2012 iconomix award.

The event will take place in Berne on Saturday, 8 May 2010. For further details, go to event and prizeshttp://www.iconomix.ch/en/award/event-and-prizes/. Invitations will be sent out about one month prior to the event.