Ten student teams selected from across the country will take part in a competition, 'Up to Us', to work out solutions to reduce the fiscal debt in the country.

Participating schools include Brown University, Georgetown University, American University, New York University, Rutgers Business School -Newark, University of Miami, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, University of Texas at Austin and University of Virginia.

Mary Tam, senior manager of the Up to Us campaign, told Michigan Daily that the economy is the least favourite topic among college students and as a result it does not get much attention.

Business junior Marcella Pearl, president of Net Impact Undergrad told the newspaper that the competition will help increase awareness regarding the economic climate.

"As college students, we're the next people going into the work force," Pearl said. "It's important to be aware of the world that we're living in."

The competition from Jan.21 to March 3 includes activities such as Guess the Debt Fishbowl, and on Federal Debt Awareness Day the teams prepare posters with facts about the federal debt.

"What we're trying to do is really different from other universities," Business junior Richard Wu, campaign director of the University's team and vice president of operations in the University's Net Impact Undergrad club told the newspaper. "We plan to engage people from a fun and enjoyable standpoint rather than lecturing."

This competition is sponsored by non-profits Net Impact, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative University.

It will be judged by Erskine Bowles, former President of the University of North Carolina system; Chelsea Clinton, board member of the CGIU; Alan Simpson, former U.S. senator; and George Stephanopoulos, anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America."

The team which provides the best solution will be awarded $10,000, while the teams with second and third best answers will recieve $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.

"We're dealing with a bunch of different campuses with a bunch of different campaign perspectives and activities, and that's great," Tam said. "That's the whole point, but it makes it hard to have this objective judging process."