National Round at UCA Determines Five Finalists for International Economics Olympiad
The University of Central Asia (UCA), through its Institute of Public Policy and Administration (IPPA), hosted the National Round of the International Economics Olympiad in Bishkek, bringing together the country’s top-performing school students in economics.
A total of 49 students from across Kyrgyzstan competed in the National Round, having successfully advanced through two prior online stages of the Olympiad. The competition assessed participants’ analytical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and understanding of key economic concepts.
The National Round marked the culmination of a highly competitive selection process that began earlier this year and engaged more than 12,000 students from 450 schools nationwide. Due to a significant increase in participation and high-performing students, an additional online round was introduced to ensure a rigorous and fair selection of finalists.
Based on the evaluation of the Examination Commission, five students were selected to represent Kyrgyzstan at the international level: Amir Ibragimov, Sandro Kvatchadze, Marat Bekbolotov, Alikhan Kozubaev, and Ayat Mahmoud Saleim.
The selected finalists will take part in an international training camp in Almaty, where they will train alongside peers from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan. They will then represent Kyrgyzstan at the final round of the International Economics Olympiad, which will be held in August in Ancient Olympia, Greece.
One of the finalists, Alikhan Kozubaev, shared his journey:
“I feel incredibly proud and happy to be among the top five students who will represent Kyrgyzstan at the final round in Greece. This is a big milestone for me,” he said. “I first participated in this Olympiad a few years ago but didn’t succeed—I didn’t even make the top ten. Since then, I kept studying—reading books, learning more economics at school—and this time I was able to achieve this result.”
He added: “It is a great honour to represent my country. I will continue preparing, revising what I’ve learned and building on this experience to do my best at the international level.”
The International Economics Olympiad is part of the broader Economic Literacy project implemented by UCA in partnership with the Economic Fundamentals Initiative (EFI). Through this initiative, UCA continues to support the development of economic knowledge and critical thinking skills among young people, contributing to the preparation of future leaders in Kyrgyzstan and the region.
