On February 27th, MPA student Breanna Higgins won fourth place with her team at the 2021 Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA)-Batten Student Simulation Competition.
Higgins and her team competed against over 400 students from 120 universities in 30 countries. Participants competed virtually at one of the four virtual competitions hosted on February 27th and March 6th, 2021. The competition—a partnership between the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and NASPAA—annually connects public policy students from a vast network of universities worldwide through simulated gameplay. Developed by experts at the Batten School’s Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming (CLSG) and backed by real-world data, the simulation places students in leadership roles within a time-sensitive, fast-paced environment where they must work together to minimize the impact of a deadly infectious disease.
NASPAA Simulation Education Director Supriya Golas said “Through these simulations, students can take what they’ve learned in the classrooms and apply it to simulated real-world experiences. We hope these tools will prepare students for the next major global event, whether it’s a pandemic or climate crisis.”
Higgins commented that the competition left her with “a better understanding of how policy actions and inactions impact lives,” observing her big takeaway was “economies can recover, but people cannot.”
100 participating teams were evaluated on simulation scores, teamwork, organization, policy decision making, and policy presentations. The four winning teams from each site are moving on to the global “All Star” round in which a panel of prominent judges will identify the global winner.
