Association of History and Civics Teachers
Bank of Finland
Federation of Finnish Financial Services
Bank of Finland
Federation of Finnish Financial Services
Daniel Sazonov from Helsingin Suomalainen yhteiskoulu school won the Economic Guru 2012 competition designed for senior high school pupils. Ari Piik from Lahden yhteiskoulun lukio school came in second and Juho Kärpijoki from Liedon lukio school was third. Ten competitors qualified for the finals held in Helsinki on 1–2 March 2012. Approximately 850 pupils from 111 senior high schools from across Finland participated in the preliminary round held on 18 January 2012. Organised already for the 15th time, the aim of the Economic Guru competition is to increase senior high school pupils' knowledge of economic matters.
The final competition consisted of a written and an oral round. In the written round, the finalists were asked to assess the importance of the current account for the Finnish economy and to consider reasons for its recent deterioration. In the oral round, finalists debated in twos on issues such as whether Europe is in need of closer economic cooperation and whether there are economic justification for larger municipalities in Finland.
The Economic Guru challenge is organised jointly by the Bank of Finland, the Federation of Finnish Financial Services (FFI) and the Association for Teachers of History and Social Studies in Finland (HYOL). It is also supported by the Association of Finnish Economic Correspondents and the Union of Finnish Upper Secondary School Students.
The three top finalists were each awarded with a cash prize (EUR 1,000, EUR 500, EUR 250). In addition, the winner's school gets to keep the competition's challenge trophy, an authentic doctoral hat, for a year. All the finalists received an economics-related magazine and book. The prizes were presented by Erkki Liikanen, the Governor of the Bank of Finland and Piia-Noora Kauppi, Managing Director of FFI, as well as Jari Aalto, Chairman of HYOL and Olli Kuivaniemi, Vice Chairman of the Association of Finnish Economic Correspondents' Board.
The finalists, in alphabetical order, are:
• Susanna Hassinen, Ressun Lukio, Helsinki
• Henri Heikinheimo, Haukiputaan lukio, Haukipudas
• Kalle Kantanen, Kouvolan yhteiskoulun lukio, Kouvola
• Juho Kärpijoki, Liedon lukio, Lieto
• Ville Leppälä, Etelä-Tapiolan lukio, Espoo
• Jyri Patama, Saarijärven lukio, Saarijärvi
• Ari Piik, Lahden yhteiskoulun lukio, Lahti
• Niko Puranen, Cygnaeus-lukio, Jyväskylä
• Matti Remes, Porin Suomalaisen yhteiskoulun lukio, Pori
• Daniel Sazonov, Helsingin Suomalainen yhteiskoulu, Helsinki
• Susanna Hassinen, Ressun Lukio, Helsinki
• Henri Heikinheimo, Haukiputaan lukio, Haukipudas
• Kalle Kantanen, Kouvolan yhteiskoulun lukio, Kouvola
• Juho Kärpijoki, Liedon lukio, Lieto
• Ville Leppälä, Etelä-Tapiolan lukio, Espoo
• Jyri Patama, Saarijärven lukio, Saarijärvi
• Ari Piik, Lahden yhteiskoulun lukio, Lahti
• Niko Puranen, Cygnaeus-lukio, Jyväskylä
• Matti Remes, Porin Suomalaisen yhteiskoulun lukio, Pori
• Daniel Sazonov, Helsingin Suomalainen yhteiskoulu, Helsinki
For further information, please contact:
Iinal Lario, Communications Officer, Bank of Finland, tel. +358 10 831 2689.
Elina Antila, Project Manager, Federation of Finnish Financial Services, tel. +358 20 793 4295.