CBCS St. Maarten Director Nicole Marlin with the St. Maarten winners.
PHILIPSBURG--Three students from Learning Unlimited Preparatory School have become the first students from St. Maarten to win the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) Best Economic Research Award at the Secondary Education HAVO level.
The award was presented on July 17 during the sixth edition of the annual Best Economic Research Award (BERA) competition. The winning team from St. Maarten comprised Kavish Punjabi, Justin Zhuo and Martin Seeman, whose research paper, “Tourism Dependence and Economic Vulnerability in Small-Island States,” earned the top prize in the HAVO category.
According to the CBCS, the achievement marks the first time a school from St. Maarten has won the Best Economic Research Award.
The annual competition is open to HAVO, pre-university education VWO and bachelor-level students from Curaçao and St. Maarten and aims to stimulate economic research, particularly on the economies of the two countries.
This year’s competition attracted 19 valid submissions, including 11 at the HAVO level, five at the VWO level and three at the bachelor level. Students researched a wide range of topics, including tourism, housing, digital payments, economic vulnerability and other issues relevant to the sustainable development of the monetary union.
At the VWO level, the Best Economic Research Award was presented to Ian Asjes and Emile Hammoud from Radulphus College for their research paper, “Betalen in Beweging. Digitale betaalsystemen op Curaçao: kansen en beperkingen in een kleine markt.”
At the bachelor level, Kristelie Cijntje-Isenia from the Inter-Continental University of the Caribbean (ICUC) received the award for her thesis, “The Impact of Foreign Real Estate Investment on the Housing Market of Curaçao.”
The submissions were evaluated by an expert panel consisting of Alberto Romero, Eric Matto and Miguel de Weever. The papers were judged on research methodology, originality and creativity, writing quality, presentation and relevance, while taking into account the academic level of each category.
The award ceremony was held at the CBCS, where the winners presented their research projects. The winning HAVO and VWO teams each received a trophy, a cash prize of Cg. 2,500 and Cg. 5,000 for their respective schools. The bachelor-level winner received a trophy and a cash prize of Cg.5,000.
A separate award ceremony was also held at the CBCS office in St. Maarten for the HAVO winners, where they received their awards from Nicole Marlin, Director of the CBCS St. Maarten Office.
The CBCS congratulated all participants for their research efforts and contributions to economic research and wished them continued success in their academic and professional careers.
