CBK Award for Young Economists

The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosova (CBK), with the aim of promoting scientific research, invites all young researchers to apply with their scientific work for the CBK Award for Young Economists. Through this call, the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosova announces:

CALL FOR RESEARCH PAPERS

On the following topics:

• The resilience of Kosovo’s financial system in the face of global uncertainties: Analysis of risks and stabilizing capacities;

• Modernization of payment systems and the benefits for Kosovo’s economy;

• The role of artificial intelligence in modernizing the financial system and the benefits for the public from digital financial services in Kosovo;

• The role of financial intermediation in supporting innovation and the transformation of Kosovo’s economy toward production and exports;

• Fintech development in Kosovo: opportunities, risks, and regulatory challenges; and

• Dynamics of financial consumer complaints in Kosovo: Analysis of complaints and suggestions for advancing consumer protection policies.

Paper content criteria

• The paper must be in the field of the financial sector and the economic development of Kosovo and beyond;

• The paper must meet the criteria of a scientific work and may be in a format similar to a Bachelor’s thesis, part of a Master’s thesis, or part of a PhD dissertation;

• The paper must be written in Albanian or Serbian, but each version must also be available in English, as ethical standards verification for plagiarism will be conducted;

• The paper must not exceed 8,500 words;

• Citation rules and reference standards should follow the APA Publication Manual (7th edition), Chicago, Harvard, or another recognized citation model;

• The executive summary must not exceed one page and the list of all references must be attached to the paper;

• The paper must be submitted in MS Word format, using Times New Roman, font size 12, with 1.5 line spacing; and • For reference citation, the use of software such as Mendeley, EndNote, or Zotero is preferred.

Criteria for paper selection by the CBK evaluation Committee

• The evaluation committee, composed of CBK staff, will select five of the best papers, which will receive the CBK Award, based on general criteria such as:

– Quality of scientific research or synthesis;

– Quality of writing;

– Accurate identification through footnotes and references of the research/writings of authors included in the paper;

– Relevance and scientific contribution to encouraging or influencing policy changes;

– Proper citation of the literature used and support of findings with references throughout the paper;

– Well-structured organization and clear chronological order of the paper;

– Consistency between conclusions and recommendations with the research findings.

• Without prejudice to the previous point, the final decision regarding the number of awards depends on the quality of the submitted papers and will be made by the evaluation committee; therefore, the quality of the submitted scientific papers determines the number of awards granted;

• Current and former employees (within the last three years) of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo are not eligible to apply for this competition; and

• Papers that do not comply with ethical standards or that are prepared using artificial intelligence platforms will be rejected and processed according to applicable legal practices, with the right reserved to inform the relevant universities about such cases.

Application criteria

• Candidates (citizens of Kosovo) must be students at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD level studying in Kosovo or abroad;

• The candidate may be an individual author, the main author, or may have co-authors (however, the award is single and will be granted only to the main author);

• Papers addressing topics other than those specified in this call will not be accepted or considered; and

• The paper must not have been previously published in scientific journals.

Application procedure and required documents • Interested students may apply by submitting their papers in electronic format (PDF) to [email protected], or by sending a printed copy to the following address: Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo (CBK), “CBK Award for Young Economists”, Luan Haradinaj Street No. 2, 10000 Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo.

• CV for reference;

• The name of the thesis supervisor and the relevant university/faculty (applicable when students collaborate with their professors during the preparation of the paper);

• A copy of their ID card and contact details, including email address, phone number, and residential postal address;

• Proof confirming the level of studies (Bachelor, Master, or PhD) in Kosovo; and

• After the evaluation of submitted papers, only the candidates whose papers are selected by the evaluation committee will be notified.

Deadline

The deadline for submission of papers is 15 October 2026 (16:00 for physical submissions).

Awards

It is planned that five (5) winners will be announced, who will receive recognition from the CBK for their contribution and will be financially rewarded according to CBK regulations. However, the CBK reserves the right to reduce the number of awards depending on the quality of the submitted papers and the decision of the evaluation Committee.