January 13, 2022 - Twenty Northern Kentucky University students will compete in The Econ Games 2022 Conference, co-founded by NKU Associate Professor of Economics in the NKU Haile College of Business and Director of the Center for Economic Education Dr. Abdullah Al-Bahrani. The conference, sponsored by Fischer Homes, will be held in March 2022.
Founded in 2018, The Econ Games was created and led by Dr. Al-Bahrani, Ph.D, and Dr. Darshak Patel, Ph.D., senior lecturer of economics and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics.
“We are excited to continue to develop a relationship with industry partners,” Dr. Al-Bahrani said. “We are grateful for Fischer Homes and their commitment towards our students and helping them develop practical data-skills.”
Over 40 students from NKU have competed in previous Econ Games conferences. Students who have participated in past Econ Games say the event has helped with career development.
“The Econ Games program isn't just a two-day competition in March; It also provides students with professional development speaker series, data classes, and pre-competition challenges to develop students' skills year-round, Brooklyn Stephens, NKU student and 2021 Econ Games participant, said. “I have had the privilege of interviewing with multiple companies for positions post-graduation and one of the main topics discussed in each interview has been the Econ Games. I was able to confidently discuss my experience and what I learned from it. This made the interviewing process much more relaxed because I had so much to talk about.”
The Econ Games was introduced to give students at NKU and across the country first-hand experience in what many economics graduates do in their daily life – analyze large volumes of data, assess trends under various economic conditions, quantify and visualize results and tell a data story. Each year, a sponsor provides competing teams with a large dataset, asking them to come up with an interesting research question that can be answered using this data, and then answering it via a short presentation. The Econ Games is like a mini-internship to immerse undergraduate students into the world of professional economists.
"Fischer Homes is excited to sponsor The Econ Games 2022 Conference as this further strengthens our commitment to building strong relationships with universities, faculty and students,” Fischer Homes Chief Financial Officer Robert Bosley said. “At Fischer Homes, we have an intense focus on delivering long-term, sustainable business growth. Similar to The Econ Games, our success is driven by our teams’ ability to find insights, draw conclusions and work collaboratively on robust data analyses and recommendations. The Econ Games provides Fischer Homes the opportunity to engage a diverse group of students and universities while solving a real business scenario that will help enable the company’s continued growth.”
The Econ Games 2022 Conference will be held March 24th and 25th at the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics.
For more information on the EconGames 2022 Conference, click here.
To learn more about the Center for Economic Education at Northern Kentucky University, click here.
About NKU: Founded in 1968, NKU is an entrepreneurial state university of over 16,000 students served by more than 2,000 faculty and staff on a thriving suburban campus nestled between Highland Heights, Kentucky and bustling downtown Cincinnati. We are a regionally engaged university committed to empowering our students to have fulfilling careers and meaningful lives. While we are one of the fastest-growing universities in Kentucky, our professors still know our students' names. For more information, visit nku.edu.
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