School Partnerships

School Meets Research

In ZEW’s school partnerships, the idea of “WE” becomes very tangible: this is where research and schools meet directly. Whether through school class visits to ZEW or inquiries from teachers and students, the focus is always on exchange and on translating economic topics into the everyday school context.

This continues in the competitions supported by ZEW. In the nationwide competition “YES! – Young Economic Solutions” and in “Start-up BW Young Talents,” young people develop their own ideas to address current social and economic policy challenges. They discuss possible solutions as a team and contribute their own perspectives, supported by our researchers throughout the process. In this way, an ongoing dialogue emerges through collaborative work on economic issues, creating a bridge between academia and the next generation.

ZEW and YES!

Since 2017, ZEW has been supporting the school competition Young Economic Solutions (formerly Summit), also known as YES! for short. Germany’s largest school competition for students in year 10 and above focuses on global issues of the future. School teams work on solutions to different economic and societal issues, which enables them to actively contribute to the economic debate. In a six-month mentoring programme, they receive academic support from researchers at renowned Leibniz and other research institutions. Until 2025, YES! was organised by the ZBW (Leibniz Information Centre for Economics) in Kiel in collaboration with the Hamburg-based foundation Joachim Herz Stiftung (JHS) and was held under the patronage of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. In 2026, the competition will be designed and carried out for the first time by the German Climate Foundation in Bremen. In the last years, ZEW mentored several winning teams, runners-up and third-place teams, and for two consecutive years successfully supported the winners of the “Best Scientific Analysis Award”. This award is presented by a panel of experts for the best scientific approach. In 2025, two teams mentored by ZEW again took the top two places.

Achievements of the ZEW Teams

2017–2019: 1st Place
2020: 2nd Place
2021: 3rd Place
2022 and 2023: “Best Scientific Analysis Award”
2025: 1st and 2nd Place

YES! 2025

YES! 2026

YES! is entering the next round – and ZEW will once again be part of it in 2026.

Insights into the competition and further information (in German)

Research Questions:

Data minimization on the internet? How using less data can also help the climate
Public sector, green action: How can sustainable public procurement support the fight against climate change?
Bad air, bad mood? – How strongly does air pollution affect our behavior, and how can we respond to it?
Taxes – Simply unfair?

School visits at ZEW

During school visits to ZEW, students gain an insight into the work of an economic research institute. They can then explore theory and practice for example through participation at events in the “First-Hand Information on Economic Policy” series. There they meet high-ranking guests from the worlds of business and politics, including Monika Schnitzer, chair of the German Council of Economic Experts, and Thorsten Frei, Federal Minister for Special Tasks and Head of the Federal Chancellery. They can engage in conversation with ZEW researchers and discuss their own questions. In this way, the visits combine scientific perspectives with current economic policy debates.