Sunday Times 2
Lankans shine at International Economics Olympiad
View(s):At the recently concluded International Economics Olympiad (IEO) 2023, Luchitha Disal Pathirana of Elizabeth Moir Senior School won a silver medal. This is the first time a student representing Sri Lanka won a Silver Medal at this prestigious event.
Luchitha Pathirana
The International Economics Olympiad is an annual competition for high school students in the field of economics. The competition, which is one of the International Science Olympiad (ISO)s, is designed to stimulate creative problem-solving skills among students interested in economics, business, and finance. The 2023 edition of the IEO, hosted by the University of Thessaly in Volos, Greece, saw 221 students representing 48 countries.
Luchitha has now participated in the IEO four times, having represented the country every year since Sri Lanka first started competing at the IEO in 2020.
Luchitha credits the IEO for exposing him to diverse perspectives on global economic issues and enriching his understanding of the subject. “Witnessing the practical application of economic principles in real-world scenarios left a profound impact on me and deepened my passion for economics,” he said sharing how he grew as an aspiring economist.
Each participating country sends a team of five students to the IEO, who compete in two individual rounds and one team round over a week. The individual rounds are designed to test the students’ theoretical and practical knowledge of economic concepts and financial literacy. The team round has the students from each country act as a group of management consultants and tackle a complex business problem, designed for the IEO each year by a consulting firm. Students who participate in the IEO gain a headstart for their careers in economics by diving into theory and applications, and networking with like-minded peers and accomplished career economists worldwide.
Shenal Kotuwewatta
The Lankan team is selected through the Sri Lanka Economics and Finance Olympiad (SLEFO), the national selection test for the IEO consisting of two rounds of examinations. The SLEFO, being the only olympiad competition available for GCE Advanced Level students in the Commerce stream, provides an opportunity for students to expand their horizons beyond the school curriculum.
The following students achieved the top five places of the SLEFO 2023 and represented Sri Lanka at the international competition.
M Dharmaratne (Trinity College, Kandy)
P L D Pathirana (Elizabeth Moir School, Colombo)
S A Kotuwewatta (Gateway College, Colombo)
K M Hanif (Ilma International Girls’ School)
F I Shabbir (Colombo International School)
The team was led by Shenal Kotuwewatta, founder and director of the Sri Lanka Economics and Finance Olympiad, and Dasun Thrimawithana, a two-time IEO alumnus and an economics undergraduate at Tokyo International University.
Shenal, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), founded SLEFO in 2020. He has since served as the team leader for Sri Lanka and a member of the IEO International Board. The SLEFO has transformed the economics and business education landscape in Sri Lanka over a short time, with the latest edition of the SLEFO reaching over 100 schools. Supported by a team of dedicated IEO alumni volunteers, the SLEFO has grown to be a leading olympiad programme; this year, Sri Lanka achieved both the best individual performance and the best management consulting team performance in South Asia. SLEFO winners continue to receive support from the programme after the IEO ends, including career advice and admissions coaching to selective international universities.
Shenal expressed his excitement about the performance of the team this year. “The SLEFO and the IEO fill a gap in our education system and allow us to identify gifted students and provide them with the support they need”.
The 2024 edition of the SLEFO will commence later this year. Interested students can stay updated on the competition by visiting https://slefo.org.