Game4Change Maribor Conference

Game4Change Multiplier Event – December 2, 2024

DOBA Business School, Slovenia

Location (+ online)

DOBA Business School
Prešernova ulica 1
2000
Maribor
Slovenia

Exciting Exploration of Gamification in Education!

We were thrilled to see you at our Game4Change Multiplier Event, part of the Erasmus+ project:

“Playful Learning: Innovative Pedagogical Approaches for Business Education”

📅 Date held: December 2, 2024

📍 Venue: DOBA Business School, Maribor, Slovenia

This immersive, one-day event explored the transformative power of gamification and learning analytics in modern business education. Whether you’re an educator, researcher, or business professional, this was an opportunity to gain cutting-edge insights and practical tools to revolutionise learning environments.

Highlights:

Keynote Presentation:
Dr. Martin Ebner (TU Graz, Austria) kicked off the event with a powerful keynote:
“How Learning Analytics, Gamification, and Beyond Can Transform Online Learning”

Panel Discussion:
An expert panel of distinguished thought leaders explored:
“Analytics-Enhanced Playfulness: Leveraging Data to Innovate Game-Based Learning in Business Education”

Featured Panellist’s:

Prof. Dr. Martin Ebner, TU Graz, Austria
Prof. Dr. Maja Pivec, FJ Graz, Austria
Prof. Dr. Rajiv Vaid Basaiawmoit, Aarhus University, Denmark
Thomas Kunze, MA, Games Institute Austria, Vienna, Austria

Topics included:

How learning analytics can provide deep insights into learner behaviour and optimize game-based learning strategies.
The role of data in designing engaging, effective educational games that improve learner outcomes.
Real-world success stories integrating analytics into game-based learning.
Future trends in the intersection of learning analytics and gamification, and their impact on online education.
Ethical considerations in using learning analytics, including concerns around data privacy and potential negative patterns.

Hands-On Workshops:

In the afternoon, the first workshop was a joint warming-up workshop on gamification and then attendees selected two out of four engaging workshops designed to deepen understanding of gamification and its practical application.

Unlock the Power of Gamification
Led by Pawel Urgasz, WSB Poland
Learn how to transform your learning environment using innovative gamification techniques.
Educational Escape Rooms: A New Approach to Learning
Led by Thomas Kunze, Games Institute Austria
Discover how escape rooms can foster deeper engagement and creative problem-solving.
Tackling Complexity in Game based Learning – the Case of the IP/Patent digital escape room game
Led by Prof. Dr. Rajiv Vaid Basaiawmoit, Aarhus University, Denmark
Explore an interactive game designed to enhance intellectual property knowledge in education.
From Lecture to Adventure: Transforming Education with Game Elements
Led by Helge Fisher & Dave Sere
Turn your traditional lectures into dynamic adventures with gamification principles.
Next Generation Entrepreneurship Course: Insights and Reflections
Led by Josefin Mueller & Linda Mertens
Learn from real-world pilots of entrepreneurship courses that foster innovation and business acumen.

Programme

Monday, 2nd December 2024

Online presence for the program from 11:00 – 14:45: link upon registration

10:00 – 10:30	Registration to the »Playful learning: Innovative pedagogical approaches for business education«
10:30 – 11:00	Opening Opening by the Dean of DOBA Business School Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gregor Jagodič Introduction of the project Game4 Change: Playful learning in Next Generation Entrepreneurship Education Prof. Dr. Helge Fisher, project manager, TU Dresden
11:00 – 13:00	Key note speech How Learning Analytics, Gamification and beyond can contribute to Online Learning Prof. Dr. Martin Ebner, TU Graz Panel Analytics-enhanced Playfulness: Leveraging Data to Innovate Game-Based Learning in Business education Prof. Dr. Helge Fisher, moderator, TU Dresden, Germany Prof. Dr. Martin Ebner, TU Graz, Austria Prof. Dr. Maja Pivec, FH Joanneum, Graz, Austria Prof. Dr. Rajiv Vaid Basaiawmoit, Aarhus University, Denmark Thomas Kunze, MA, Games Institute Austria, Vienna, Austria
13:00 -14:00	Drink and bites
14:00 – 17:15	Workshops (registration needed)
14:00 – 14:45	Workshop 1 - Unlock the power of gamification and transform your learning environment! Pawel Urgasz. WSB, Poland
14:45 – 16:15	Workshop 2 - Educational Escape Rooms – a promising approach to new ways of learning Thomas Kunze, Games Institute Austria
14:45 – 16:15	Workshop 3 - Tackling Complexity in Game based Learning – the Case of the IP/Patent digital escape room game Rajiv Vaid Basaiawmoit,, Aarhus University
16:15 – 16:30	Coffee Break
16:30 – 17:15	Workshop 4 - From Lecture to Adventure: Transforming Education with Games-Elements Helge Fisher & Dave Sere
16:30 – 17:15	Workshop 5 - Enhancing Entrepreneurial Education: (Teachers’) Insights and Reflections from Next Generation Entrepreneurship Course Pilots Josefin Mueller & Linda Mertens
17:30 – 17:45	Wrap Up

Meet the Panel

Maja Pivec, Ph.D

Maja Pivec, Ph.D, is professor of Applied Game Desing and Gamification at the Institute for Design and Communication, University of Applied Sciences FH JOANNEUM in Graz, Austria. Her research interests include digitalization of education, introduction of innovative elements in education and sustainbaility education.

For her research achievements Maja Pivec received in the year 2001 Herta Firnberg Award (Austria) in the field of computer science. In the 2003 she was awarded by European Science Foundation in form of a grant for an interdisciplinary workshop organisation in the field of affective and emotional aspects of human-computer interaction, with emphasis on game-based learning and innovative learning approaches. In 2018 she received Graz Congress Award for hosting the European Conference on Game-Based Learning in October 2017.

She is co-ordinator, scientific leader or partner in several EU or national founded projects. She is editor and co-editor of three book publications in the area of innovative learning approaches. She is invited speaker and workshop host. Her research work is published and presented at more than 100 international conferences and publications.

Martin Ebner, Ph.D

Martin Ebner is currently head of the Department Educational Technology at Graz University of Technology and therefore responsible for all university wide e-learning activities. He holds an Adjunct Prof. on media informatics (research area: educational technology) and works also at the Institute for Interactive Systems and Data Science as senior researcher at Graz University of Technology. His research focuses strongly on MOOCs & microcredentials, AI in education, open educational resources and computer science for children. Martin has given a number of lectures in this area as well as workshops and keynotes at international conferences. For publications as well as further research activities, please visit his website: http://martinebner.at

Thomas Kunze, MA

Thomas Kunze has been working in the educational sector for almost 20 years now. While working as a teacher and trainer for almost 15 years, he developed an expertise in game-based learning in his educational career. Having worked in education in several countries and on all levels, he understands the challenges that the educational sector must face in the digital world, with the rise of AI, and ever-increasing demands in terms of preparing students for the world of tomorrow today.
He is a lecturer at universities, the founder of Games Institute Austria, a consultant for educational and scientific institutions for digital and innovative education, and a specialist for games culture, game design and game-based learning. Thomas develops escape rooms for learning, science communication, assessment, recruiting and professional development. He is also a specialist for esports education and the connection of digital culture and learning. With his team, he is working with partners and institutions in European projects, all over Europe and beyond. He is a leader in educational escape room development and a facilitator in training teachers and institutions in all things games related.

Rajiv Vaid Basaiawmoit, Ph.D

Rajiv oversees Innovation & Entrepreneurship activities at Aarhus University, advise and mentor start-ups and is an award-winning Entrepreneurship Educator.
He is also the co-founder of the consulting firm Biosymfonix and its Gamification subsidiary - Biosymfonix Edu-Games - with its flagship game ESHIP: Navigating Uncertainty.

About the Workshops

Workshop 1 | Unlock the power of gamification and transform your learning environment!

Workshop Facilitator: Pawel Urgasz

In this interactive workshop, participants will experience the world of gamified learning with simple gamified elements where educational content meets the excitement of game mechanics.The workshop will focused on contribution to entrepreneurial skills and competences and will be placed in social simulation where players take on different hidden roles. The objective would be to foster collaboration and trust-building while managing uncertainty and risks that mirror entrepreneurial challenges.Discover enhanced engagement, motivation, and retention by integrating elements such as challenges, rewards into your learning practices. This session will provide you with practical example to energize lessons and create a more dynamic, fun, and effective learning experience in a team setting. Get ready to explore learning feel like play!This workshop is ideal for any type of students, trainers, and professionals interested in creating more engaging and motivating learning environments.

Workshop 2 | Educational Escape Rooms – a promising approach to new ways of learning

Workshop Facilitator: Thomas Kunze

Escape Rooms are everywhere. You can visit them at dedicated locations, you can buy them as board and card games, as calendars, books, and digital games. For a few years now, educational escape rooms are also gaining momentum and more and more teachers are interested in the design, the use, and the potential of escape games in different forms for educational settings.Educational escape rooms are an exciting opportunity to bring new ways of interacting and methods to classrooms and seminars. No matter if you play escape rooms or if you design puzzles using educational content, new perspectives and skills can develop. Escape Rooms are relatively simple to bring to classrooms, but good Escape Room design opens up especially valuable interactions with the material and the other players. They facilitate research skills, collaboration, problem solving, adaptability and strongly motivate learners, no matter if you play or design yourselves. This workshop gives you the opportunity to try out an educational escape room yourself and see how the method works and what the benefits are.Thomas designs and works with escape rooms for almost 10 years now and he is always keen on pushing the boundaries in terms of educational escape room design in projects and collaborations with a variety of institutions.

Workshop 3 | Tackling Complexity in Game based Learning – the Case of the IP/Patent digital escape room game

Workshop Facilitator: Rajiv Vaid Basaiawoit

The Aim of this 90 min workshop is to split the session into two halves – game-play and discussion about the in-game complexity that the players would experience. The experiential case study here will focus on the IP game Leap InTime that specifically tries to reduce the barrier towards patents and use it then as a way to scaffold IP education in general in any discipline by raising, awareness, interest but more importantly some excitement. After the game play we will have a quick debrief that accompanies the game followed by some data from player surveys and then an open round-table discussion regarding the complexity and game design process as well as the learning goal integration.

Workshop 4 | From Lecture to Adventure: Transforming Education with Games-Elements

Workshop Facilitators: Helge Fisher & Dave Sere

This workshop provides educators with insights and practical guidance on how to incorporate gamification into their teaching. Participants will explore various strategies, including game-based learning examples, to make their lessons more engaging and effective. Join us to discover how to enhance student motivation through interactive, playful learning experiences.

Workshop 5 | Enhancing Entrepreneurial Education: (Teachers’) Insights and Reflections from Next Generation

Workshop Facilitators: Josefin Mueller & Linda Mertens

Join us for a creative exchange with university lecturers and project staff about their experiences from the piloting of the Next Generation Entrepreneurship course. Share your own experiences and best practices, explore and discuss innovative approaches and help shape the future of entrepreneurial learning together!