SAESM from Nov 29 - Dec 4

by Gamini WARUSHAMANA

The 7th South Asian Economics Students' Meet (SAESM) will be held from November 29 to December 4 in Colombo with the participation of undergraduate economics students from universities in the South Asia region, said the coordinator of the event Senior Lecturer of the University of Colombo Dr. Sirimal Aberathne.

The theme of this year's conference is "Economic Freedom and Poverty Reduction in South Asia".

Sri Lankan delegation at the 6th SAESM

The event provides an opportunity to economics undergraduates of Sri Lankan universities to meet their counterparts of the region and interact and learn from each other with exposure and training in academic paper presentations. The conference is organised by the undergraduate students under the guidance of staff members and will consists of students' conference, quiz competition, budding economics competition and a field trip for foreign participants.

These students will be the future leaders, policy makers and managers with greater integration in the future, Dr. Aberathne said.

"SAEMS is organised for 250 participants including 54 from universities in the region. Sri Lankan participants are from the University of Colombo and other universities including the University of Jaffna and the Eastern University.

We have invited the economics departments of all universities to participate at this event," said Dr. Aberathne.

SAESM, was begun in 2003 by the academic staff of four leading universities namely. Ramajas College-University of Delhi, India, Lahore University of Management Science, Pakistan, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The objective was to promote understanding of economic development and regional cooperation amongst students.

SAESM was held in 2004 in New Delhi, 2005 in Lahore, 2006 in Dhaka, 2007 in Colombo, 2008 in New Delhi and 2009 in Dhaka.

The event is organised with financial sponsorship from governments, private sector institutions and donor agencies.

Ven. Dr. Wimalarathna said that although students are familiar with economic concepts, theories and issues their exposure to practical situations and how to apply theories to analyse practical issues is limited.

This year the students who participate at SAESM will be able to improve their knowledge and experience related to economic freedom, he said.

"I was privileged to attend the 6th SAESM held in Dhaka last year. It was a platform for young economists in our region to share their knowledge, views and opinions on socio-economic challenges in our region, said M. Kesavarajah, a final year economics undergraduate of the University of Colombo.

One of the outcomes was the network of young economists.

The hospitality of our counterparts in the host country was impressive and this year we will do our best to make SAESM successful and provide all facilities for the participants.

I strongly believe that this meet will generate enthusiasm among the young economists in the region", Kesavarajah said.