Media Contact
Jennifer Ellen French
Public Relations Manager
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
[email protected]
ATLANTA – The Georgia State University campus will be one of 16 host sites across five continents for the annual Batten Student Simulation Competition conducted by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) on February 24, 2018.
The competition will connect teams of more than 560 graduate students from 159 universities in 27 countries through computer-based simulated gameplay. This year’s simulation, “Pandemic Crisis Management and Global Health Security,” will place these 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 that threatens humanity.
Teams will be evaluated on simulation scores, negotiation skills and written and oral presentations made to regional site judges. A panel of prominent “super judges” will determine the global winner. Each member of the winning team will receive a prize of $1,500. Students in second place will receive $500 each.
Georgia State’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies will host the Southeastern Regional competition, which will include students from 14 universities in seven states, including Georgia. Master of Public Administration students Holly Smith, Anna Sexton and Austin Dyer, nominated by Andrew Young School interim dean Sally Wallace, will represent Georgia State University.
Professionals from local organizations will judge the competition. Judges for the Georgia State University site are:
- William (Joe) Gregg, Influenza Coordination Unit, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
- Seth Koop, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Elizabeth Painter, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Daw Mohamad, Emergency and Humanitarian Assistance Team, CARE® USA
- Sarah McCool, School of Public Health, Georgia State University
Joseph Hacker, a clinical associate professor of public management and policy at the Andrew Young School, will serve as site leader and academic specialist Amber Slyter will assist as technical leader.
The 2018 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition is a partnership between the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and NASPAA. Through the competition, NASPAA aims to provide students with realistic issues that can be realized beyond the classroom while preparing them in each of the core competency domains of NASPAA accreditation. The simulation was developed by experts at the Batten School’s Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming.