Charlottesville, Va. – More than 400 graduate students in eight sites across the globe will simultaneously attempt to end world hunger by 2030 in the first-ever global simulation competition, beginning at 2:00am ET February 25.

The Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy at the University of Virginia is the first to offer a comprehensive simulation curriculum for public policy. Using Batten’s new computer models developed by Gerard P. Learmonth, Sr., students will be able to see how the decisions they make over the course of eight hours would impact communities worldwide for years to come.

This dynamic global competition; a partnership between Batten and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) will take place over a span of a day at eight global sites around the world, including:

Arizona State University – The School of Public Affairs, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Columbia University – Earth Institute and School of International and Public Affairs, New York City, New York, USA

George Mason University – Schar School of Policy and Government, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Indiana University Bloomington and Indiana Purdue University Indianapolis – School of Public and Environmental Affairs (IUPUI and IUB), hosted in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

United Nations University (UNU-MERIT) – Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, Maastricht, Netherlands

Tsinghua University – School of Public Policy and Management, Beijing, China

Universidad de los Andes – Alberto Lleras Camargo School of Government, Bogotá, Colombia

University of Washington – Evans School of Public Affairs, Seattle, Washington, USA

Through gameplay, public administration and policy students will explore challenges of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 2 to end world hunger, which affects 790 million people worldwide. Students will present their solutions to a panel of expert judges, including Josette Sheeran, President and CEO of Asia Society and former Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme; and Steve Cohen, Executive Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.  Winning students will secure prize paid internships are prestigious firms committed to issues surrounding sustainable development and food security.

Following the competition, UVA will release the Batten-branded simulation games to the public.

Follow the games on Twitter and Facebook Live:

#NASPAASim17

@UVaBatten @naspaa

https://www.facebook.com/UVABatten/

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About NASPAA

Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration or NASPAA is the global standard in public service education.  It is the membership organization of graduate education programs in public policy, public affairs, public administration, and public & nonprofit management. Its nearly 300 members - located across the U.S. and in 14 countries around the globe - award MPA, MPP, MPAff, and similar degrees. NASPAA is the recognized global accreditor of master’s degree programs in these fields. For more information, please visit https://studentcompetition.naspaa.org/.

About The Frank Batten School for Leadership & Public Policy at the University of Virginia

The Frank Batten School for Leadership & Public Policy’s Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming prepares students for public life by allowing them to test real-world solutions in a virtual environment. In 2007 Frank Batten, Sr., chairman and CEO of Landmark Communications, Inc., founder of The Weather Channel, dedicated $100 million for the creation of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Since the school opened its doors, it has grown tremendously. In those formative years, it had only 25 students, a handful of faculty members and only three administrators. Today, the school has more than 300 students, a staff of 20, a faculty of almost 60 scholars, five research centers, a beautiful building and a growing alumni base. For more information, please visit http://batten.virginia.edu/.