Contributions to Conferences

Using Serious Games for Overcoming Separation between Theory and Practice in the Education of Engineers

Abstract

The relevance of decision making skills at every level in supply and production networks increases due to the increased complexity. In education theory and practice are often separated, and thus it is difficult for the student to transfer the knowledge based upon research rather than practice in their first jobs. This leads to underperformance in the industry and in organisations. The questions are therefore how is it possible to overcome this separation within formal education, and to what extend can this reduce the underperformance in the industry. This article will show how serious games can be used to overcome this separation, as well as discusses the limitation and opportunities of this method. It presents the learning results of game played by more than 300 students during the last years. It is based on the inside that knowledge may drive action but that also action generates knowledge.