The stakes are high, but Annabelle Ludman ’29 addresses the room’s two judges with ease.
Situated in the front of the classroom with her group’s PowerPoint displayed on screens to her right and left, the “Microeconomics Principles” student and four classmates are kicking off the final round of Bryant University’s Applied Economics Competition (AEC) in the Academic Innovation Center. Their project focuses on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12 (responsible consumption and production), and the first-year students have analyzed the goal in relation to the restaurant industry.
“Consumers have expressed a growing demand for sustainable practices in the restaurant industry,” says Giavanna Gentile-Cimildoro ’29, noting that this request can be challenging for suppliers to meet since they may encounter barriers to sustainable food and beverage products and, if they do have access, suppliers typically face higher costs, which could impact consumers.
Guiding the judges’ gaze to several graphs on the PowerPoint, undergrads share data on how sustainable food purchases have altered over time, how consumers are increasingly willing to pay more for a restaurant that is sustainable, and that restaurants promoting sustainability efforts are seeing greater profits. Referring to sustainability efforts that companies like Dunkin’ and the ice cream maker Salt and Straw have initiated, Elizabeth Hawkins ’29 provides two policy recommendations the group would implement to help mitigate waste: first, to apply a tax on the consumer for common food waste; second, that governments offer incentives (tax credits, subsidies, and grants) to restaurants minimizing food waste.
Following a round of questions from the judges, the group files out and calls in the next cohort. As the next five students enter, they carry a similar confidence and energy into the space: prepared to compete and vying for the winning spot.
An “out there” idea
Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the AEC seemed like an “out there” idea when first proposed with questions regarding feasibility.
“I pushed for this program because I wanted students to do more than just learn economics — I wanted them to practice it,” says then-Economics Professor now-Vice President for Strategy and Institutional Effectiveness Edinaldo Tebaldi, Ph.D., who brought the program to life alongside Economics Professor Sam Mirmirani, Ph.D., who served as department chair at the time. To date, approximately 10,000 undergrads have passed through the competition. “By embedding it into the curriculum into a competitive, collaborative experience, we created a space for students to see firsthand how economic policy works and shapes the world.”
At Bryant, every student is required to take “Microeconomic Principles” and “Macroeconomic Principles.” The competition is ingrained within both courses, and each undergrad will compete twice in the competition. At the beginning of the semester, students are placed into teams and presented with a current economic issue, trend, or event. They then use the economic tools and theories they learn throughout the course to examine their topic and present their work in class for the competition’s first round. The top presentation from each course section advances to the final, out-of-class competition.
“Seeing the program thrive a decade later confirms that students excel when challenged to apply their knowledge in a high-stakes, real-world setting,” reflects Tebaldi.
Always updating and evolving
As the initiative has evolved, new questions are developed for each competition to ensure students are addressing current, real-world situations. In 2024, the competition added the UN’s SDGs to its questions following the launch of the university’s new General Education program, which based its curriculum on the SDGs.
This academic year, in microeconomics, students analyzed one of the following SDGs within the U.S.: clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, or responsible consumption and production. Teams then gave a recommendation to improve the current situation and discuss the expected impacts. In macroeconomics, students examined the current state of a low-income or lower-middle income economy, identified a major macroeconomic problem, and provided policy recommendations for the mitigation of that issue with explanation of expected impacts of the policy. The SDG goals they could focus on were clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, and responsible consumption and production.
Impressed with the program’s success, Mirmirani — who judges the competition every year — notes that the students’ interest and the faculty’s motivation keep it going. Running the competition themselves, Tebaldi and Mirmirani eventually passed the torch to Economics Associate Professor Laura Beaudin, Ph.D. Most recently, Economics Senior Lecturer Allison Kaminaga, Ph.D., and Economics Coordinator and Professor Aziz Berdiev, Ph.D., have been coordinating the competition.
Developing skills early
While the competition enhances students’ understanding of introductory economics, Berdiev notes that first-years are developing skills in critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity.
“Those are skills employers are looking at, so it’s helpful to start building them right off the bat,” says Berdiev.
As a former Bryant student and now educator, Economics Lecturer Liam Rice ’17 notes that, while he didn’t have the opportunity to go through AEC, preparing his students to compete has been its own rewarding experience.
“It’s such an important experiential opportunity because students apply what they’re learning in the classroom, and it helps them understand the content even more,” he says, adding those who don’t make it to the final round come and support their peers during final presentations.
That support extends far beyond just first-years. Economics alums who went through the program often return to judge the final round, and the department invites faculty from other areas of the institution as well as university leadership to be judges.
Having graduated back in May, Conor Kincaid ’25 returned to campus as a judge for the macroeconomics competition.
“Projects like this allow people to focus on the development and human side of economics,” says Kincaid, an Applied Economics and Team and Project Management double major who now works as a finance analyst for Mass General Brigham. “It’s also not every day that you have the president of the university or higher-up leadership listening to your presentations.”
Thriving, with many years ahead
It’s the end of the competition, and undergrads and faculty pack into one classroom waiting for Kincaid to announce the top three teams for both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Over the last fifteen minutes, judges have deliberated and selected their winners based on technicality, creativity, and applicability of economic concepts.
First up is microeconomics where Ludman and her group take first place; in the macroeconomics section, Dylan Franklin ’29, Sean Jones ’29, Evan Klepacz ’29, Sean Maguire ’28, and Tyler Storey ’27 go up to accept their award. Bryant University President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., is there to congratulate the winners.
As teams depart for the evening, Ludman’s group reconvenes at one of the room’s back tables — in disbelief of their accomplishment but reveling in their success.
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“It feels good to win as a group of all women,” says Ludman, the rest of the group nodding in agreement.
Although the competition has concluded, Kaminaga knows that this won’t be the last time that this semester’s students talk about it.
“Our students are so outcome-oriented, and you notice that they are proud of their work and proud to share it,” she says. “They take pictures with their teams and post about it on LinkedIn saying, ‘Look at this huge problem that we are trying to address and here are the realistic solutions we came up with.’”
As if speaking it into existence, the first posts start going up, from undergrads sharing how far they made it in the competition to faculty expressing how proud they are of their students. There are comments. Likes. Reposts.
It’s a mighty initiative with an enduring impact.