UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For two days this past November, the rooms and halls of the Lewis Katz Building on Penn State’s University Park campus sounded like the chambers of the United Nations, with teams of diplomats gathered to resolve an international crisis. And while the tension and the drama felt real, the “crisis” at hand was — thankfully — just a simulation; the “diplomats” were graduate students at the Penn State School of International Affairs (SIA), participating in SIA’s annual exercise with the U.S. Army War College (USAWC).
Hands-on, experiential learning is a hallmark of the educational experience at SIA, and the crisis simulation exercise is the epitome of that approach.
Dennis Jett, SIA professor and former two-time U.S. ambassador, coordinates the simulation as a component of his core course on the foundations of diplomacy and international relations theory. The USAWC, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, manages the details of the simulation in the form of its "International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise" (ISCNE), in which students are assigned roles as the diplomats of various nations and non-state actors involved in a real-world conflict.
“The Army War College simulation was such a rich experience for our students, for whom there will be lasting learning across the realms of negotiation, strategy, teamwork, diplomacy, and effective presentation,” said Mitchell Smith, director of SIA and professor of international affairs. “The School of International Affairs appreciates the skill with which the ISCNE team structured and guided the exercise as well as the work of Ambassador Dennis Jett in preparing our students. SIA students were a model of professionalism, pursuing their roles with creativity and seriousness of purpose. Having completed 13 years of the annual ISCNE, we in SIA are excited to continue our collaboration with the Army War College for years to come.”
With the involvement of military leadership from the USAWC and diplomatic expertise from Amb. Jett, the exercise gets as close to real-world scenarios as possible, while also providing students with an opportunity to build valuable skills and experiences, according to Cliffy Zukowski, ISCNE program director at the USAWC.
“The simulation aims to provide an experiential learning environment where students get to apply things that they are learning in the classroom,” said Zukowski. “Through the experience of doing multiple repetitions of strategizing, evaluating and negotiating, participants refine their personal techniques and skills. Additionally, working in a team environment provides opportunities to engage with classmates to figure out the best strategies to employ.”