iconomix

Swiss National Bank

Event and prizes

Students whose submissions are particularly good will be invited to the iconomix event (see factsheets for category 1 and category 2). Teachers of invited students are also welcome to attend the event.

The event will take place at the Westside Leisure and Shopping Centre in Berne on Saturday, 8 May 2010 from 9 am to 5 pm.

Expert discussion

The first part of the event comprises a discussion between the students and the members of the jury. This discussion will take the form of a dialogue:

  • One member of the jury will summarise the content of the project.
  • Two jury members will discuss the content of the project with the student.
  • In the case of group work, only one student needs to be present at the discussion, but all team members may attend if they wish do to so.
    All students and teachers at the event are welcome to attend the discussions as onlookers.

Jury

The jury members are qualified economists: Mauro Baranzini (Università della Svizzera italiana), Martin Brown (SNB und Tilburg University), Marius Brülhart (Université de Lausanne), Nicolas Cuche-Curti (SNB), Manfred Gärtner (Universität St. Gallen), Rico Maggi (Università della Svizzera italiana), Dirk Niepelt (Studienzentrum Gerzensee und Universität Bern) and Renate Schubert (ETH Zürich).

iconomix awards

The presentation of the iconomix awards takes place in the second part of the event. Each participant 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.

Best iconomix school

The Swiss National Bank will bestow a special prize on the school with the most winning submissions.

Actually on six schools... one for each of the categories of upper secondary school in Switzerland.

The lucky schools get to keep the title for a year. Not only that, the SNB will also give them a half-day iconomix workshop worth CHF 1,000.

Key

Categories

The iconomix award comprises two categories. Category 1 consists of an essay on one of the iconomix challenge questions. Category 2 is a recognised project undertaken independently by the students on a subject of their choice.

Challenge questions

Every iconomix module includes a challenge question. Each of these questions provides the ideal starting point for a short essay that can be entered in category 1.

Topics of choice

In category 2, students can submit projects that are approved by their school and deal with economics. This may comprise written or non-written work (e.g. an essay or a film). If non-written work is submitted, brief documentation of the process is required (as for other school work at this level).

Independent projects

The independent projects are referred to differently at the various types of Swiss upper secondary schools. For a detailed list, please refer to the German or French versions of this website.

Factsheet

Any approved submission will be published in the form of a factsheet on the iconomix-award website. A factsheet contains important information on the submission, including the author’s details (name and place of residence), a brief description of the content and an extract from the feedback report written by an expert in the field.

www.iconomix-award.ch

The purpose of this website is to promote the iconomix award among students. Unlike www.iconomix.ch, it is aimed at students and has its own look and feel.