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Students Flex Their Skills in Public Policy Case Competition
Thirty students tackled international and domestic public policy problems and tested their presentation skills before a panel of management professionals and development experts in SIPA’s annual Public Policy Case Competition on February 4.
Ten student teams were given five hours to analyze a case study, make recommendations and prepare a presentation. Half of the teams confronted a public sector challenge involving the delivery of billions of dollars in military benefits; the other half addressed an international development challenge about predicting famines in Sudan.
"I had a great experience," said Ella Kim (MIA '12), whose team (left) won the competition's public sector track. The competition had political, social, financial and operational dimensions and allowed teams to demonstrate their analytical skills, Kim added.
Previous teams addressed issues involving protecting the nation’s energy resources and pressing legislation to allow Albania to qualify for development aid. Participating in the competition gives students a glimpse of the highly competitive field of consulting.
"It was interesting to see how the competition imitated various aspects of real life, including the time constraint," said Karin Costa Vazquez (MIA '12), whose team won the competition's international development track. "The time pressure made me feel confident and motivated to deliver high-standard results."
The experience also was a chance to learn from the competition's judges, who came from the consulting and development firms Deloitte, The Bridgespan Group, KPMG, Chemonics, DAI, Booz & Company and Dalberg. 
The judges asked the presenters detailed questions and provided constructive feedback before announcing the winners.
The team that won the public sector competition was made up of Kim, Maria Soledad Guilera (MIA '12) and Ben Roseth (MIA '11).
The winners of the international development competition (right) were Vazquez, Carlos Jerez-Bernal (MIA '12) and Molly Powers (MPA-DP '12), pictured with competition judge Eric Howell.
Tim Shenk, February 10, 2011