Studying the financial system is one factor. Finding your home in it’s one other. For many college college students, the transition from educational studying to the world of labor comes with questions concerning the abilities employers worth, the industries providing alternatives and the way their training can translate into significant financial contribution.
The Nigerian Economics Students’ Association (NESA), Lagos State, hopes to convey these conversations nearer to college students via the inaugural ECONNEXT Lagos Conference, scheduled for Thursday, 26 November 2026, on the Honeywell Auditorium, Lagos Business School. The occasion will run from 10 a.m. to five p.m. below the theme, “Unlocking Talent, Innovation and Opportunities for Africa’s Future Economy.”
The ECONNEXT Lagos Conference was conceived across the hole between what college students study within the classroom and the financial system they may ultimately enter. While educational coaching offers a basis, understanding how organisations function, how industries evolve and the place rising alternatives lie will help younger folks make extra knowledgeable choices about their careers and future contributions.
For economics college students, this implies wanting past the normal assumption {that a} diploma leads primarily to banking or finance. Economic considering could be utilized throughout know-how, vitality, consulting, enterprise, public coverage and different sectors. The problem is knowing how these industries work, what abilities they require and the way graduates can place themselves to contribute.
The convention goals to create a gathering level between younger folks getting ready to take part within the financial system and the professionals, companies and establishments already shaping it. Through keynote addresses and two panel discussions, contributors will discover expertise growth, innovation, employability and alternatives rising throughout totally different sectors.
The conversations are supposed to maneuver past financial ideas and classroom concept to look at the realities younger folks encounter as they put together for skilled life. By partaking with business practitioners, attendees can achieve views on office expectations, take into account totally different profession paths and higher perceive how their information and skills can create worth.
Beyond the principle classes, the ECONNEXT Lagos Conference will characteristic a Career and Opportunities Hub the place employers, recruiters {and professional} our bodies will share details about internships, mentorship and graduate alternatives. An exhibition hub and networking lounge may also give contributors alternatives to interact with organisations, meet different attendees and construct skilled connections.
These actions mirror the convention’s broader goal: serving to younger folks perceive the financial system, recognise their worth and determine methods to seek out or create alternatives. Rather than treating profession growth as one thing that begins solely after commencement, the ECONNEXT Lagos Conference seeks to convey business publicity {and professional} conversations into college students’ educational expertise.
NESA Lagos connects greater than 3,000 economics college students throughout establishments within the state, together with the University of Lagos, Lagos State University, Lagos State University of Education, Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Pan-Atlantic University, Anchor University, Caleb University, Trinity University and Augustine University. The affiliation offers a platform for college kids to interact past their particular person campuses and take into account the broader function of economics in society.
Although economics college students are the convention’s main viewers, the ECONNEXT Lagos Conference is open to college students from different disciplines, together with finance, accounting, administration, statistics, laptop science, engineering, regulation and political science. Graduates, younger professionals, job seekers, researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers are additionally welcome. This cross-disciplinary method recognises that the challenges and alternatives shaping Africa’s financial system require information and contributions from totally different fields.
For NESA Lagos, the inaugural version can be the start of a longer-term ambition. The affiliation intends for the ECONNEXT Lagos Conference to develop into an annual platform connecting college students with business, rising sectors and sensible alternatives. Its focus will not be merely on getting ready younger folks to enter the labour market, but in addition on encouraging them to consider how their abilities, concepts and choices can contribute to financial growth.
As know-how, enterprise fashions and office expectations proceed to evolve, serving to college students perceive the place they match into the financial system is a crucial a part of getting ready them for the long run. The ECONNEXT Lagos Conference seeks to make that transition much less distant by bringing the related conversations, folks and alternatives into one area.
Early-bird tickets are priced at ₦3,000, whereas common tickets price ₦5,000. Interested contributors can register at https://thecirclepass.com/occasions/econnext-lagos-conference-2026-931552.
