NASPAA (The Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration) have selected SPP to be one of the regional sites for the worldwide 2018 NASPAA Batten Student Simulation Competition. “The Selection Committee was very impressed with SPP’s application,” commented NASPAA Executive Director Laurel McFarland. “We’re looking forward to being in Budapest in 2018.”
NASPAA organizes this annual competition to “encourage student learning and engagement with the policy process, and to promote public service education with prospective students, employers, and the public.” The focus of the one-day competition is the opportunity to use simulation software to solve a complex public policy problem. NASPAA selects different topics each year. It was health policy in 2015; climate change in 2016; and food security in 2017. The topic for the 2018 competition will be chosen in early 2017.
SPP Acting Dean Julia Buxton commented, “The SPP students who traveled to Maastricht in February 2016 to participate in last year’s competition reported that they had benefited enormously from the opportunity to become familiar with the modeling software, and also the chance to network with interesting students from other public policy schools. Being a host school in 2018 will make it possible for an even greater number of CEU students to participate.”