Award at YES! School Competition
Dates and NewsTrophy Goes to ZEW for the Fourth Time
Professor Marianne Saam, long-standing head of the YES! school competition – Young Economic Solutions at the ZBW (Leibniz Information Centre for Economics in Kiel) – ceremoniously presented the YES! trophy for first place to ZEW for 2025. Following wins from 2017 to 2019, this marks the fourth time the trophy has gone to ZEW. We are very happy about the award and congratulate everyone involved in this wonderful success!
2025 was a highly successful YES! year for ZEW. At the finals in Hamburg in September, the school team from Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium in Stuttgart took first place in YES! – Young Economic Solutions. In their project, the students explored the question of what cities can actively do to counteract climate change. The school team was supported in finding a solution by ZEW economists Anna Straubinger and Oliver Schenker. With their digital platform “Grünstelle” (green spot), which makes urban greening easier and accessible to everyone, they impressed the jury across the board. The second place also went to a school team supported by ZEW. The students from Schloss Hansenberg boarding school in Geisenheim scored highly with their idea for an “Investment Radar”. Connecting citizens, local communities and researchers, the platform provides information on ongoing investments and enables direct feedback. The students were supported throughout the process by ZEW researchers Jan Kemper and Paul Steger.
From 2026, the YES! school competition will be designed and run by the German Climate Foundation Bremen. ZEW will be back with four diverse topics and is keeping its fingers crossed for all participants in the new round.
About YES!
The YES! – Young Economic Solutions competition organised from 2015 to 2025 is a joint project of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics and the Joachim Herz Stiftung in Hamburg. From 2026, the German Climate Foundation and Joachim Herz Stiftung will be in charge of the competition. YES! is one of the biggest high school competitions in Germany looking at issues affecting the future of our world. Over the course of six months, student teams develop their own solutions to global economic, ecological and social challenges and present them as part of the YES! – Young Economic Solutions conference. Experts from various research and university institutions support the students by providing their scientific expertise. ZEW has been a partner since 2017.
