2023 Fund Challenge

To: All UG students,

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is inviting economics students to participate in the "2023 Fund Challenge" organized by IMF’s African Department (AFR), Asia and Pacific Department (APD), Institute for Capacity Development (ICD), and Middle East and Central Asia Department (MCD). Finalist teams will have the opportunity to present virtually at the IMF post-annual meetings event in October 2023, as well as attend annual meetings virtual events with policy makers, academics, and civil society organizations from around the world.

Interested students should form a team of 2 and invite a faculty member as their "sponsoring professor" for the Challenge, and the team leader should submit the online application form HEREby Monday, June 5, 2023. Each team member is required to register and complete the ICD's online Macroeconomic Diagnostics course (MDSx) via edX between June 9 and August 14. Participants who wish to receive a course certificate must purchase a verified certificate from edX. For more details about rules and regulations, as well as the application method for the Challenge, you may refer to the eDM below and the official website HERE.

For further enquiries, contact IMF-FundChallenge@imf.org.

The IMF’s African Department (AFR), Asia and Pacific Department (APD), Institute for Capacity Development (ICD), and Middle East and Central Asia Department (MCD), invite economics students to join the 2023 Fund Challenge.

Pre‐qualification requirements for participating in the 2023 Fund Challenge are as follows:

• Students must be currently enrolled in undergraduate degree programs¹ (including class of 2023) in economics or a related field at an institution of higher learning in any AFR, APD or MCD member country² to be eligible to compete in the Fund Challenge.
• Each team must consist of two students of the same institution of higher learning.³ Each team wishing to participate should register only once using the Fund Challenge Registration Site by June 5. 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.⁴
• As a part of the challenge, participants must register and successfully complete ICD’s online Macroeconomic Diagnostics course (MDSx), between June 9 and August 14⁵. 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 9.
• 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 August 17.

Finalist teams will have the opportunity to present virtually at the IMF post-annual meetings event in October 2023. Finalists will be invited to attend annual meetings virtual events with policy makers, academics, and civil society organizations from around the world. For questions or concerns, please contact IMF-FundChallenge@imf.org.

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¹ Eligible degree programs include Economics, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, data Science or other related quantitative field.

² AFR member countries include: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Congo, Republic of, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. APD member countries include: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Lao PDR, Macao SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Vietnam. MCD member countries and territories include: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.

³ Multiple teams studying at the same institution of higher learning may compete, but only one team can be chosen as a finalist. Participants must choose their team member prior to registration.

⁴ Sponsoring faculty member can be any faculty member within the field of study at the respective institution of higher learning; one faculty member may sponsor multiple teams from the same institution.

⁵ Participants must use the same e-mail address to register for the Fund Challenge, MDSx course and the case study. The results of the challenge will be communicated to the same e-mail address.

Disclaimer:

1. The School will not be responsible for any expenses incurred in this Challenge.
2. The data collected through the online registration is solely administered by the organizer. The School shall not be held liable in the case that disputes, loss, or any other situations arise.