KPMG kicks off internet balloon race competition

Accountancy firm KPMG has launched a competition which will see students take part in an online hot air balloon race to win an internship place. The Netherlands-based company, which is known as one of the ‘Big 4’ auditors, will also be giving the victorious entrant a £1000 travel voucher. Vanessa Soames of KPMG said of the contest:

“We’ve already had a great response and with the dedication we’ve seen from gamers so far, it’s obvious we have some brilliant candidates and that the bar has been set high!”

The game is called ’80 Days to Race the World’, a reference to the classic Jules Verne story, and players are obliged to deal with a variety of challenges in their attempts to get around the world first. These tasks are concealed from the participants beforehand and take place at a range of locations. The detailed game has been designed to replicate the task of actually piloting a hot air balloon. For example, players have to address the challenges and keep their eyes on their fuel levels simultaneously. Failure to do this efficiently will result in the game ending. Players are allowed to start again and are encouraged learn from their previous errors to improve on their performances. Interestingly, players have been given the green light by KPMG to exchange data using Twitter. Only students who meet specific residential and academic criteria are in with a chance of victory and the rules can be viewed on the competition website.