Game4Change Conference – 25-26 March 2024

Rotterdam Business School, the Netherlands

This event is part of a project funded by the European Union. The following organisations participate in this project:

• • Technische Universität Dresden, Germany (Project Lead)
  • Akademia WSB, Poland
  • DOBA Business School, Slovenia
  • Fachhochschule Dresden, Germany
  • Rotterdam Business School, part of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences
  • University College Leuven-Limburg, Belgium
  • Businet – Global Higher Education Network, Belgium

Programme

Keynote speeches

Monday 25th

Opening by the Dean of Rotterdam Business School

Welcoming our guests and opening speech by the Dean of Rotterdam Business School.

Simulation as Story – Using Gamification to turn Students into Heroes

Simulation as a concept in gamification offers two things: immersive, activating models for thinking and systems that facilitate stories. From war games, drills and flight simulators, to analogue and digital role-playing games, simulations let us centre and examine the actions and motivations of students in ways traditional teaching has a hard time achieving. The best simulations let students try out their skills, develop professional personalities and gain a sense of achievement. Just like the best stories teach, move and inspire us.

Total Game Changer: Blending AI, Business and Game Mechanics

This talk is meant for entrepreneurs, educators, and innovators looking to stay ahead of the curve. It will unveil innovative techniques in business education that leverage AI assistants, simulations, and learning scenarios that go beyond the traditional use of chatbots. Also learn about the transformative effects that AI can have on leadership and management.

Tuesday 26th

Introduction to the Game4Change project

The Game4Change project is a project funded by the European Union. Its aim is to prepare business students for the future labour market, through gamified courses on Next Generation Entrepreneurship. It also seeks to provide a methodology, toolkits, training and guidelines for usage of gamification in various fields of business education (BE) to teachers and learning designers in a global context.

Beyond Gamification: Game Thinking

Every game designer knows this truth: if a game isn’t worth playing, redesign it. While gamification often revolves around manipulating players’ behavior with points and badges to keep them playing the same old game, Game Thinking focuses on making the game itself more inclusive and engaging. Join me as we look at education through the lenses of a game designer and unlock an exciting realm of possibilities.

Enjoying Studies Together through Play

What if we could increase the enjoyment students experience when studying? What if we can enhance their motivation, skill development, resilience, and knowledge retention? What if students that play and study together also train social skills and build stronger bonds in their study journey?

Workshops

Monday 25th

Gamification Unleashed: Navigating Playful Organizations and Game-Based Management

In today’s society, the influence of play and gamification has become increasingly prominent. The integration of game elements into non-gaming contexts, known as gamification, has become a prevalent practice across various domains. The corporate landscape, in particular, has witnessed a significant adoption of gamification concepts, referred to as Corporate Gamification, with a majority of Global 2000 companies leveraging gamified applications or services. Unlike some newer management or leadership methodologies, playing games is not a skill that needs to be acquired; rather, it naturally forms a foundation for social interactions. But what exactly characterizes a playful organization?

This workshop aims to delve into the diverse applications of corporate gamification, the design dimensions of playful organizations, and game-based management methods.

Thinking Through Designing Simulations

Simulation as a concept in gamification offers two things: immersive, activating models for thinking and systems that facilitate stories. From war games, drills and flight simulators, to analogue and digital role-playing games, simulations let us centre and examine the actions and motivations of students in ways traditional teaching has a hard time achieving. The best simulations let students try out their skills, develop professional personalities and gain a sense of achievement. Just like the best stories teach, move and inspire us.

Starting from where You Are: A Nigerian Entrepreneurial Perspective – This Story is My Reality

Entrepreneurship requires more than just a good idea. To succeed, entrepreneurs must be resilient, patient, and constantly learning. They must be able to adapt to setbacks and challenges along the way. By learning from failures, seeking knowledge relentlessly, and practising patience in the face of uncertainty, entrepreneurs can build not only successful businesses but also become resilient individuals.

In Nigeria, entrepreneurs are vital to the economy. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) constitute a significant share of the total number of businesses in Nigeria and account for almost half of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). They also provide employment for about 85% of the total industrial workforce. MSMEs have been instrumental in providing creative solutions, innovative ideas, and value creation in the sectors they operate in. They have also contributed to social change in Nigeria by leveraging technology to solve traditional infrastructure, communication, and logistics problems.

A real-life example of the power of entrepreneurship is a young Nigerian boy who started his own business at the age of 12. Despite facing roadblocks and setbacks, he went on to build a successful business in his 30s before leaving Nigeria for personal development. His story is a testament to the importance of supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs to build a sustainable business environment.

Learning from failure, an educator’s quest to incorporate gamified elements in C21 entrepreneurial education

Game4Change G4C:NGE is a multinational Erasmus + project that aims to promote playful learning in next generational entrepreneurial higher education. During this workshop you will travel with one of the G4C participants on her quest to integrate gamified elements in her daily educational practice. The workshop provides insights into C21 entrepreneurial skills, but also gives a candid view of various attempts to gamify courses, some more successful than others. Participants will experience different gamified interventions and will share pro’s and con’s of various gamification elements and share best practices.

Tuesday 26th

Game Thinking in Practice: Crafting Inclusive and Engaging Experiences

Discover new ideas to make your curriculum more inclusive and engaging. By looking at our activities through the lens of a game designer we can make them more challenging and balanced for everyone. We will tap into the most effective ideas from the world’s finest video and board games and how they can be applied in your work. Whether you are an avid gamer or new to the concept, I will guide you through each game concept with clear examples from the vibrant landscape of game design.

Bringing Case Studies to Life with a Game

Let us bring case studies to life with a game. We can create complex characters, conflicting perspectives and branching narratives from a multitude of possible choices that students can explore together or alone. In this workshop we experiment with a game that augments the way students learn from the traditionally static case study analyses, and that is being played by roughly 1700 Erasmus University Rotterdam students in 2024.

Innovation through piloting: Research and further development in the Next Generation Entrepreneurship Course

Join us for an interactive workshop on the challenges of piloting the newly developed Next Generation Entrepreneurship course. We will discuss with you actionable insights drawn from evaluation and optimization for future course iterations.

Speakers