Penn State students who dream of one day running their own businesses are about to get the chance.

A six-year tradition in the Smeal College of Business Administration, the Smeal Survivor competition, will continue this year, but with a new look.

The competition, which is open to all Smeal and Schreyer Honors College undergraduates, offers its participants the opportunity to act as a chief executive officer (CEO) of a major corporation. The participants are responsible for making critical decisions and responding to global business challenges.

Although the competition will be structured similarly to previous years, the contest will have a face-lift as its name changes to The Next CEO. Jessica Sremanak, assistant director of corporate relations for Smeal, said the name change came this year to better reflect what the competition represents.

"I think it gives you real world practice at thinking on your feet and having to think through real business issues quickly," Sremanak said. "Hopefully these kids want to be a CEO or at least aspire to be strong in whatever business function they pursue."

The first phase of the process involves selection of the competitors by an appointed committee of Smeal representatives. These students are then sent to Washington, D.C., where they study at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. They participate in discussions about various world events with former ambassadors and senior policy advisers.

After returning to State College, members of the selection committee choose the final game contestants and assign each a different company, which they will be responsible for researching and later representing.

Wyatt DuBois, coordinator of college relations for Smeal, said the students are encouraged to research the company in light of what they learn in Washington. For the final round of the game, students must be prepared to answer questions from the viewpoint of the CEO of their assigned corporation. Many of the judges who will be on hand for the April 23 competition phase are members of the local and national business world.

"Real corporate executives pose questions to them about their institution and they're judged on how well they think on their feet," DuBois said.

Last year's competition had students representing companies such as UPS and even required students to address issues such as the bird flu epidemic and its effects on the business world.

Event organizers said they hope to see a good number of students apply before the Dec. 8 deadline.

"A lot of people consider applying and then they don't because it's scary... it's scary to get up there in front of CEO-level judges and these people who are just brilliant," Sremanak said. "But no matter how it turns out they will have grown from this experience. I recommend they just do it."