THUNDER BAY — A team of undergraduates from Lakehead University's economics program has advanced to the final round of a prestigious national competition.
In the Bank of Canada's annual Governor's Challenge, schools across the country receive the opportunity to simulate the role of advisor to the bank's Governing Council.
Lakehead competed against a number of much larger economics programs just to reach the final five.
In last week's elimination round, LU's team of five students had to make a 15-minute presentation, via Skype, on whether the Bank of Canada's key interest rate should be raised, lowered or kept the same in order to achieve the bank's inflation rate target of two per cent.
Karl Skogstad, one of four faculty advisors to the team, says 28 universities entered the competition this year.
"You're competing against everyone. That's what makes it kind of remarkable. We think it shows the quality of our students and the quality of our program here at Lakehead," he said.
Skogstad said the students are excited to have made the finals.
"They worked very hard at it. We meet on a weekly basis. There's no course credit for this. They're doing it because they're passionate about the subject. They're competitors and they like to win."
Lakehead has entered the last four years of the five-year-old competition.
Last year, its team didn't get to the finals but did earn a runner-up spot in the preliminary round for the first time.
Skogstad expects that this year's success can be used to attract students to Lakehead's economic program.
"It shows the advantages that come from a small university. In no other place will you have four faculty members working with you on a weekly basis to get to know you and guide you through the material. That's not happening at the larger universities and it shows the Lakehead advantage," he said.
The finale of the competition takes place in Ottawa in February.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz has said that he sees the students participating in the event as "among those who could shape the future of economics and finance."
