Studying the financial system is one factor. Finding your house in it’s one other. For many college college students, the transition from tutorial studying to the world of labor comes with questions concerning the expertise employers worth, the industries providing alternatives and the way their schooling can translate into significant financial contribution.
The Nigerian Economics Students’ Association (NESA), Lagos State, hopes to deliver 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. beneath 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 be taught within the classroom and the financial system they may ultimately enter. While tutorial coaching offers a basis, understanding how organisations function, how industries evolve and the place rising alternatives lie will help younger individuals make extra knowledgeable selections about their careers and future contributions.
For economics college students, this implies trying past the standard assumption {that a} diploma leads primarily to banking or finance. Economic considering might be utilized throughout know-how, vitality, consulting, enterprise, public coverage and different sectors. The problem is knowing how these industries work, what expertise they require and the way graduates can place themselves to contribute.
The convention goals to create a gathering level between younger individuals 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 improvement, innovation, employability and alternatives rising throughout completely different sectors.
The conversations are supposed to maneuver past financial ideas and classroom idea to look at the realities younger individuals encounter as they put together for skilled life. By participating with business practitioners, attendees can acquire views on office expectations, take into account completely different profession paths and higher perceive how their data and talents can create worth.
Beyond the primary classes, the ECONNEXT Lagos Conference will function 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 can even give contributors alternatives to have interaction with organisations, meet different attendees and construct skilled connections.
These actions mirror the convention’s broader goal: serving to younger individuals perceive the financial system, recognise their worth and establish methods to seek out or create alternatives. Rather than treating profession improvement as one thing that begins solely after commencement, the ECONNEXT Lagos Conference seeks to deliver business publicity {and professional} conversations into college students’ tutorial 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 students to have interaction 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, legislation and political science. Graduates, younger professionals, job seekers, researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers are additionally welcome. This cross-disciplinary strategy recognises that the challenges and alternatives shaping Africa’s financial system require data and contributions from completely 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 change into an annual platform connecting college students with business, rising sectors and sensible alternatives. Its focus just isn’t merely on getting ready younger individuals to enter the labour market, but additionally on encouraging them to consider how their expertise, concepts and selections can contribute to financial improvement.
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 longer term. The ECONNEXT Lagos Conference seeks to make that transition much less distant by bringing the related conversations, individuals and alternatives into one house.
Early-bird tickets are priced at ₦3,000, whereas common tickets value ₦5,000. Interested contributors can register at https://thecirclepass.com/occasions/econnext-lagos-conference-2026-931552.
