Wo kshop
Recommended ci a ion: Waldeck, R., Winkens, A.-K., Lemke, C., Leich -Schol en,
C., & Audunsson, H. (2025). Iden i ying Cu iculum Dis up ions in Enginee ing
Educa ion Th ough Se ious Gaming. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen,
H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o
Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.17631238.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
IDENTIFYING CURRICULUM DISRUPTIONS IN ENGINEERING
EDUCATION THROUGH SERIOUS GAMING
Roge Waldecka,, Ann-K is in Winkensb,
1
, Cla a Lemkec,
Ca men Leich -Schol end, Ha aldu Audunssone
a IMT A lan ique, B es , F ance, ORCID 0000-0003-2031-9054
b RWTH Aachen Uni e si y, Aachen, Ge many, ORCID 0000-0003-4637-3905
c RWTH Aachen Uni e si y, Aachen, Ge many, ORCID 0009-0003-4623-6019
d RWTH Aachen Uni e si y, Aachen, Ge many, ORCID 0000-0003-2451-6629
e Reykja ik Uni e si y, Reykja ik, Iceland, ORCID 0000-0002-7730-346X
Con e ence Key A eas: Capaci y building; Cu iculum de elopmen
Keywo ds: Se ious game, Resilience, Cu iculum de elopmen , Decision making,
VUCA
ABSTRACT
This wo kshop in oduces pa icipan s o SUCRE, a se ious game designed o
enhance cu iculum esilience in highe educa ion by simula ing c isis scena ios.
While applicable o a ious disciplines, his session ocuses on enginee ing cu icula,
iden i ying discipline-speci ic challenges and po en ial adap a ions. Pa icipan s will
engage in S ep 1 o he game, analyzing igge e en s and hei impac s on
cu iculum s uc u es. A he end o he wo kshop, a endees will be able o iden i y
key igge s ha may a ec cu icula, assess hei cascading e ec s, and e lec on
he applicabili y o SUCRE wi hin hei own ins i u ions.
1 BACKGROUND
1.1 Na iga ing VUCA challenges in Highe Educa ion
C ises and ex eme e en s a e inc easingly p e alen (Hällg en e al., 2018). The
complexi y o globally connec ed socio- echnical sys ems in which highe educa ion
ins i u ions (HEIs) ope a e p esen s new challenges in p epa ing o , esponding and
adap ing o a apidly changing VUCA ( ola ili y, unce ain y, complexi y, ambigui y)
wo ld (Kamp, 2020). VUCA si ua ions a e cha ac e ized by in ica e cause-and-e ec
ela ionships, en i onmen al ola ili y, high unce ain y due o incomple e in o ma ion,
and mul iple, o en con lic ing in e p e a ions among s akeholde s (Waldeck e al.,
2019). Unlike adi ional isk managemen , esilience acknowledges ha some
1
Co esponding Au ho
A Winkens
ann-k is in.winkens@ w h-aachen.de
dis up ions a e un o eseeable, ye o ganiza ions can s ill p epa e o hem. The
Co id-19 c isis highligh ed signi ican di e ences in HEI’s esilience p o iles
(Be houd e al., 2021; McKeown e al., 2022). Those who exhibi ed weake
pe o mance, mus now endea o o lea n om he expe ience and enhance hei
p epa edness o u u e challenges (Habe saa e al., 2020). Technical uni e si ies
and enginee ing educa ion p og ams, in pa icula , seem o be highly ulne able o
sudden dis up ions due o hei equen eliance on adi ional eaching me hods and
igid cu iculum s uc u es, which o en lack he lexibili y needed o adap o apidly
changing condi ions (B ink e al., 2024; Hadg a & Kolmos, 2020).
Building esilience equi es a comp ehensi e s a egy ha de ines he pu pose o
esilience (i.e., esilience o wha ), iden i ies po en ial dis up ions o deal wi h
( esilience o wha ), de e mines in e nal and ex e nal sou ces o esilience ( he how)
and speci ies when and which esilience capaci ies should be ac i a ed ( he when)
(Duchek, 2020). Some schola s de ine esilience as he abili y o main ain essen ial
ope a ions (Hollnagel, 2010) o o apidly es o e p e-c isis condi ions (Holling,
1973). Mo e ecen ly, a esilience concep has eme ged, whe e o ganiza ions
le e age ad e si y o de elop an imp o ed ope a ional model (Chen e al., 2021;
Mac ae & Wiig, 2019).
Se ious games (SG) can se e as aluable ools o HEIs, suppo ing e ec i e
decision-making in complex scena ios. SG a e inc easingly used o suppo long-
e m lea ning and acili a e decision-making o complex challenges, such as disas e
isk managemen and sus ainable socio-economic sys ems (Taillandie & Adam,
2018; an Schaik, 2023). By inc easing awa eness o un o eseen e en s and hei
po en ial consequences, SGs help ins i u ions o s eng hen cu iculum esilience
and be e p epa e o u u e dis up ions, he eby achie ing an enhanced esilience
le el o hei HEI cu iculum.
1.2 A Se ious Game o Cu iculum Design
The DECART (Agili y, Resilience, and T ans o ma ion in Cu iculum Design) p ojec
os e s he exchange o inno a i e cu icula and s a egies o implemen a ion in
VUCA con ex s. I suppo s cu iculum coope a ion, leade ship de elopmen , and
dissemina ion o ad anced cu iculum design me hods. DECART is an in e na ional
collabo a ion in ol ing ins i u ions om F ance, Ge many, Iceland, Indonesia,
Li huania, and Sou h A ica, which ha e a pa icula ocus on enginee ing and
business educa ion.
As pa o DECART, a se ious game (“SUCRE” o Se ious Uni e si y Cu iculum
REsilience game) was designed o enhance he esilience o cu icula in highe
educa ion ins i u ions. Wi hin DECART, he e m “cu iculum” is gene ally unde s ood
as guidance on wha o each and he educa ional p ocess leading o speci ic
lea ning ou comes (Ma hiasdo i e al., 2024).
In he SUCRE se ious game, playe s analyze and espond o igge e en s ha may
dis up highe educa ion cu icula. These VUCA e en s (Waldeck e al., 2019)
gene a e mul iple in e p e a ions and e alua ions, e lec ing he complexi y o eal-
wo ld decision-making. The VUCA si ua ion is highligh ed in he game h ough
di e en aspec s: complexi y a ises om he in e dependencies be ween a igge
and i s consequences (Figu e 1), unce ain y s ems om he challenge o
de e mining whe he he igge ’s impac will be posi i e o nega i e, ola ili y is
e lec ed in he apid and unp edic able changes ce ain igge e en s can p o oke,
which can c ea e sudden dis up ions in cu iculum s uc u es, and ambigui y
becomes appa en in he analysis o which consequences o conside , as well as he
di e se in e p e a ions pa icipan s may ha e.
Playe s wo k in eams o s eng hen a i ual uni e si y’s cu iculum esilience. In
SUCRE, ollowing he esilience cons uc o McManus e al. (2008), h ee capaci ies
a e o be acqui ed and applied h ough playing he game: 1) building si ua ional
awa eness by unde s anding he ipple and eedback e ec s o a gi en igge e en
h ough consequence scena io analysis, 2) iden i ying ulne abili ies o a highe
educa ion ins i u ion cu iculum o a gi en igge e en and p io i izing he e en s o
ocus on, and 3) building adap i e capaci y by designing ans o ma i e ac ions in
esponse o hese challenging igge s, based on he insigh s gained om s eps 1)
and 2).
T igge and impac ca ds enhance si ua ional awa eness o he playe s. T igge
ca ds depic c ises o changes a ec ing highe educa ion, ca ego ized in o (i)
compe i ion and economy, (ii) poli ical and en i onmen al con ex , and (iii)
echnology and inno a ion. Impac ca ds ou line po en ial consequences, which can
be in e connec ed and a e a ec ed ei he posi i ely, nega i ely o in an
unde e mined o non-quan i iable way. Recognizing igge s, assessing
consequences using impac ca ds, and de eloping a sha ed unde s anding a e
cen al o esilience. Figu e 1 illus a es how playe s could use consequence
scena io mapping o enhance si ua ional awa eness. He e an exempla y igge ca d
“educa ion cos s will inc ease signi ican ly o s uden s” gene a es cascading
impac s.
Figu e 1. An example om he game showing he di ec (impac ca ds) and cascading
e ec s om one VUCA e en ( igge ca d). The colo o each a ow indica es i he e ec is
posi i e, nega i e o inde e mina e.
Cu iculum Iden i y ca ds (ID) in SUCRE ep esen di e en ypes o cu icula om
di e en uni e si ies, each wi h unique s eng hs and ulne abili ies. Playe s ecei e
a cu iculum ID ca d desc ibing a uni e si y and i s cu iculum along a ious
dimensions.
2 WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES
This wo kshop in oduces SUCRE and i s applica ion o enginee ing cu icula. While
SUCRE is applicable o a ious disciplines and ins i u ional con ex s, his wo kshop
aims o explici ly ocus on enginee ing cu icula as a use case, explo ing discipline-
speci ic challenges and po en ial adap a ions.
The co e objec i e o he wo kshop is o engage pa icipan s in S ep 1 o he game
called “building si ua ional awa eness” among pa icipan s: Iden i ying igge
e en s and analyzing hei po en ial impac s on enginee ing cu icula (as i is
exempla ily shown in Figu e 1).
2.1 Expec ed lea ning ou comes
By he end o he wo kshop, pa icipan s will:
• Iden i y key igge e en s a ec ing enginee ing cu icula, such as
echnological dis up ions, egula o y changes, and unding shi s.
• Analyze ipple e ec s and eedback loops using s uc u ed scena io mapping.
• Re lec on he applicabili y o SUCRE wi hin pa icipan s’ ins i u ions and
discuss discipline-speci ic conside a ions o enginee ing educa ion.
2.2 Ta ge Audience
This wo kshop is designed o :
• Enginee ing educa o s and p og am leade s in e es ed in p epa ing cu icula
o unexpec ed dis up ions.
• Highe educa ion adminis a o s wo king on cu iculum de elopmen .
• Resea che s in enginee ing educa ion and cu iculum inno a ion explo ing
new app oaches o adap i e lea ning s uc u es.
No p io expe ience wi h SUCRE o se ious gaming is equi ed.
3 WORKSHOP DESIGN
This in e ac i e session combines game-based scena io analysis, s uc u ed
discussions, and e lec ion. Pa icipan s will wo k in small g oups o assess c isis
scena ios a ec ing an enginee ing cu iculum. In his boa d game, hey a e p o ided
wi h an Iden i y Ca d, T igge and Impac s Ca ds, as well as a empla e ha is used
o he analysis.
Time Plan (60 minu es)
1. In oduc ion and Con ex (10 min)
o B ie o e iew o cu iculum esilience
o In oduc ion o SUCRE and wo kshop objec i es
2. Game Ac i i y – Iden i ying T igge s and Impac s (35 min)
o Each g oup is assigned a ic ional enginee ing p og am/uni e si y (ID
ca d)
o Each g oup analyzes gi en po en ial igge s, mapping di ec and
cascading impac s on he cu iculum.
o G oups discuss and documen key ulne abili ies and indings.
3. Discussion and Takeaways (15 min)
o G oups sha e insigh s and compa e in e p e a ions o he igge
e en s.
o Open discussion on enginee ing-speci ic cu iculum challenges and
po en ial game adap a ions.
o Re lec ion on how pa icipan s can apply hese insigh s in hei own
ins i u ions.
By ocusing on enginee ing educa ion, he wo kshop will allow o discipline-speci ic
insigh s and discussions on po en ial cus omiza ions o SUCRE o his ield.
Pa icipan s will lea e wi h a deepe unde s anding o cu iculum ulne abili ies and a
amewo k o analyzing and esponding o dis up ions in enginee ing educa ion.
4 WORKSHOP RESULTS
Two g oups pa icipa ed in he wo kshop wi h pa icipan s om he Ne he lands,
Uni ed Kingdom, F ance, Poland and No way.
Bo h g oups wo ked wi h he same Iden i y Ca d (En i onmen al Enginee ing) and
ecei ing he same se o T igge and Impac Ca ds. In e es ingly, he g oups
app oached he exe cise di e en ly and a i ed a dis inc ou comes, demons a ing
he di e si y o pe spec i es ha may a ise when e lec ing on di e en igge s and
impac on a cu iculum.
Figu e 2. Imp essions om he SUCRE Game Wo kshop a SEFI.
The i s g oup ocused on one main igge ca d and decided o analyze i s po en ial
e ec s in dep h. Thei mapping emphasized mos ly nega i e impac s. Be o ehand,
hey sc eened possible igge s and hen ag eed on one speci ic e en o explo e. In
hei scena io mapping o consequences, se e al a ows indica ed double o
ein o cing e ec s, highligh ing how impac s can ampli y each o he . The second
g oup chose o in eg a e wo igge ca ds and also analyze mos ly nega i e impac s.
In gene al, he ac i i y showed ha he game can be applied a di e en le els o
de ail by s a ing om a single igge and i s immedia e impac s and hen ex ending
he map s ep by s ep. The pa icipan s app ecia ed his app oach and engaged in a
li ely discussion, highligh ing he alue o he exe cise. Discussions also e ealed
he impo ance o dis inguishing be ween sho - e m and long- e m impac s, as he
same igge may gene a e immedia e dis up ion bu also c ea e oppo uni ies o
adap a ion o e ime. Mo eo e , we ocused only on he i s s ep o he game due o
he one-hou ime limi a ion, which p o ed e ec i e o he session o ma . A he
same ime, he exe cise highligh ed he impo ance o conside ing he di e si y o
di e en na ional highe educa ion sys ems when e lec ing on possible igge s and
impac s on cu icula. Finally, i became clea ha he game can be played bo h
wi hin a sha ed educa ional se ing (e.g., pa icipan s om he same uni e si y
wo king on a speci ic cu iculum) and among pa icipan s om di e en ins i u ions,
p og ams, o na ional con ex s, wi h bo h cons ella ions o e ing aluable
pe spec i es.
Fo u u e applica ions, i may be use ul o p o ide bo h a basic e sion o he game
wi h ewe ca ds o a as e en y and an ex ended e sion wi h a la ge ca d se o
deepe explo a ion.
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