Simulation Competition: Get Involved

Becoming a Host Site

NASPAA is always on the lookout for enthusiastic member schools to serve as host sites for future NASPAA Student Simulation Competitions. Host sites have the opportunity to create a meaningful, educational and exciting day for students from around the world as they compete and network in an immersive learning event while using a computer simulation designed for public service education. NASPAA simulations allow students to practice many skills required for effective policy-making and leadership, such as negotiation, data analysis and team management. 

If you are interested in hosting, please review the expectations listed on this page and email Alex Minkoff at minkoff@naspaa.org.

Learn More about Becoming a Host Site

Becoming a Sponsor

The NASPAA Simulation Competition offers unique sponsorship opportunites. Your sponsorship will support NASPAA’s mission to improve public service simulations and make them more prevalent. This year, NASPAA has worked hard to bring you a high-level public service education simulation that features diversity, equity, and inclusion elements of refugee migration. Your contribution will go towards DEI integration for innovative teaching and learning tools, overall simulation development, enhancing competition delivery to exceed what we have done in the past, and enabling take-home toolkits to students, public service programs, and professors.

Learn More about Sponsorship Opportunities

Becoming a Judge

Every year, NASPAA and our competition host schools ask public service professionals to attend the competition to observe and evaluate students during the full-day Saturday event. Judges are enthusiastic, public service professionals or academics who use their knowledge and expertise to evaluate students' use of communication, negotiation, teamwork, and critical thinking skills during the competition. These skills are needed to excel in public service and in the professional world. Judges also determine how well students have considered the diversity, equity, and inclusion facets of the simulation topic, and the impacts of their policy decisions. Judges are recognized on NASPAA’s website, social media, newsletter, and in the post-competition program book.

Learn More about Simulation Judges

Sending your Students to Compete / Nominating Yourself

All NASPAA member schools are eligible to send students to the NASPAA Simulation Competition anywhere in the world that it's being hosted. Schools and/or students are responsible for travel, lodging and registration fees, but students will be fed the Friday evening before the competition and will receive breakfast and lunch on the competition Saturday. Students can be nominated by deans, program directors, and Pi Alpha Alpha Advisers. Remember, students must be enrolled in a master’s program in a public service degree (MPA, MPP, etc.) at the time of the competition. Click the link below to visit the main student simulation competition page. There will be a registration link there during the student registration window which is typicall from December to early February each year.

Student Simulation Competition Page

If you are a student and you want to learn more about what to expect for the competition, click on the link below. You can even nominate yourself to compete! Although nominated students are typically given first priority for registration, self-nominated students will also be accepted unless the local host school is not over capacity.

Visit the Competition Student Page

Supporting the Simulation Competition Development Process

There are plenty of other ways to get involved with the NASPAA Student Simulation program, even beyond the competition. NASPAA members are eligible to be considered for positions on committees including the Simulation Committee and the Innovative Teaching and Learning Committee. Members are also more than welcome to share ideas about simulations and serve as advisors and subject matter experts. If you are interested in becoming a part of the NASPAA Simulation Program, just reach out to competition@naspaa.org.

Questions?

If you have any questions for the NASPAA competition staff about any of these opportunities, please contact competition@naspaa.org and we will be happy to assist you. Expect to receive an email response within one business day.