Applications are currently being accepted for the IMF Fund Challenge for Undergraduate Students in Economics. The Fund Challenge is open to students from across the globe who may want to showcase their skills to the world, meeting and interacting with the academia, policy makers and decision makers, Capacity Development Agencies, Innovators and Change Managers.
Fund Challenge Description
The IMF Fund Challenge is organized for Economics students by IMF’s African Department (AFR), Asia and Pacific Department (APD), Institute for Capacity Development (ICD), and Middle East and Central Asia Department (MCD), in collaboration with the IMF Office of Innovation and Change (OIC).
The IMF is a global organization, with a framework for international economic cooperation with over 190-member countries, puts up the IMF Fund Challenge to test student’s understanding of macroeconomic analysis. The Fund Challenge will provide these students the opportunity to showcase their skills and abilities to the world as they meet with international organizations from around the world.
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Eligibility Criteria
The Pre‐qualification requirements for participating in the Fund Challenge are as follows:
- Students must be currently enrolled in undergraduate degree programs in economics or a related field at an institution of higher learning in any AFR, APD or MCD member country to be eligible to compete in the Fund Challenge.
- Each team must consist of two students of the same institution of higher learning. Each team wishing to participate should register only once using the Fund Challenge Registration Site by June 1. Registration will require providing the contact information of a faculty member who can then verify the team’s enrollment at an institution of higher learning in any AFR, APD, or MCD member country.
- As a part of the challenge, participants must register and successfully complete ICD’s online Macroeconomic Diagnostics course (MDSx), between June 6 and September 2. The course is provided at no charge to participants, but each team member must register and complete the course separately with edX. The workload for the course is approximately 6–8 hours per week. Participants who wish to receive a course certificate must purchase a verified certificate from edX. Details on course access and technical requirements will be communicated on June 2.
- Teams who successfully complete the required online course will be asked to analyze a new case study developed by ICD. Each team will then submit a presentation that (a) describes the current economic situation in the case study, and (b) recommends policies to address the identified challenges.
- Presentations may be prepared in English or French and submitted in any format (MS PowerPoint is recommended), but please note that the MDSx course and new case study will only be available in English. The process and deadlines for submitting presentations will be communicated on September 6.
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Application Procedure
All interested participants are to register Online using the Registration link. Finalist teams will have the opportunity to present virtually at the IMF annual meetings in October. This will afford them the opportunity to meet policy makers, academics, and civil society organizations from around the world.
