OREANDA-NEWS. October 12, 2012. Sberbank and Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration organize an educational project of unprecedented scale for students in all Russian regions, CIS countries, as well as in those countries of Central and South East Europe, where the Bank is expanding its presence (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia), – Banks Battle, the International Student Olympiad on Commercial Bank Management. Sberbank is acting both as co-organizer and general partner of the project, reported the press-centre of Sberbank.

Olympiad will be held for the third year in a row. In the past season, the participants in the competition included more than 5,000 students from leading universities in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Banks Battle is based on comprehensive economic simulation, a computer model that imitates the process of managing the commercial bank in a virtual economic environment. The program ensures equal conditions of participation for all teams and impartial evaluation of the bank management quality.

During the Olympiad, the participants will have the opportunity to become top managers of virtual banks and manage them over four virtual years of the game. The teams of 3-4 people will need to develop and consistently implement their competitive strategy – make managerial decisions and analyze financial results.

Selection stage will be conducted over the Internet, and later the best teams will compete with each other in face-to-face semifinals that will be held in the regional banks of Sberbank. In March 2013, 10 best student teams from Russia, CIS and European countries, where Sberbank is represented by its subsidiary banks, will meet in Moscow to determine the international champion in commercial bank management.

Best teams will receive valuable prizes from Sberbank. The top prize will be the internship workshop in largest international commercial banks.

"Investing in education and science is the key area in Sberbank's activities", said Sergey Gorkov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Sberbank of Russia.

Banks Battle participants may include students under 25 years in Bachelor's, Master's and Specialist programs. You can register your team prior to October 31 at www.banksbattle.ru.