An estimated 2,000 youth from several countries started arriving on campus Wednesday to participate in the Future Problem Solving Program International Conference, June 12-13.
FPSP participants, grades four through 12, tackle community or global issues with creative thinking and solutions based at least 20 years into the future. Students compete individually or on teams in one of four categories:
- Community problem solving (individual or team) -- yearlong projects that include display boards and oral presentations
- Global issues problem solving (individual or team) -- work out a problem-process for a theme
- Scenario writing (team) -- four-person teams are randomly appointed at the competition to create four short stories from different perspectives set 20+ years in the future
- Scenario performance (individual) -- create and perform a 4- to 5-minute story
Intellectual property is this year's theme for the global issues, scenario writing and scenario performance competitions.
Many participants will be staying in campus residence halls, with competition taking place in the Scheman Building and Hilton Coliseum.
Public presentations
The public is invited to an evening showcase of the community problem solving entries on Friday. Nearly 70 project displays will be set up in Hilton Coliseum from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., with individuals and teams on hand to answer questions.
