A SERIOUS GAME FOR THE RIJNMOND-DRECHTSTEDEN AREA
NEWS
On January 25th 2012, students from the Rotterdam University of Applied Science presented a "serious game" in the context of the i-Lab for Flood Control 2015. This was a board game where the public partners in the Rijnmond-Drechtsteden region had to work together effectively in order to prevent flooding.
i-Labs
In the i-Labs, a multidisciplinary group of selected (excellent) Bachelor students takes up an innovation challenge put forward by industry. The students are guided by teachers and industry experts, but are self-steering in solving the issue at hand. Action learning is a large part of the process. The following Dutch Youtube video explains and illustrates the concept of an i-Lab: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnRXUhJg39s
In 2011 the second i-Lab on Flood Control kicked off at the Hogeschool Rotterdam. An enthousiastic group of students accepted the challenge to raise awareness of the difficulty in multi-party flood fighting. Their response? A 'serious game' played by public agencies involved in flood fighting.
What is this game about?
Public Partners in the densely populated Rijnmond-Drechtsteden area had to work together in the game, from their own positions and roles, to prevent flooding and reduce damages of floods. The game roles were: Ministry of Public Works, Water Boards, Municipalities and the Public Safety Agency. People from the Water Board Hollandse Delta, Deltares and ARCADIS participated in the "game" in the various roles. In this manner, all involved could experience first-hand the different dilemma's that the organisations are confrontewd with.
The participants were very enthusiastic about the game. "You experience the various concerns of the organizations during a crisis and get a better understanding of the issues."