A HERA multiplier event took place virtually on April 16, 2021. The event targeted students at the Department of Energy Systems of the University of Thessaly, which is located in Larissa, Greece. This allowed the results of the project to be promoted beyond the town of Volos, which is the location of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Thessaly, that coordinates the project.
The event was attended by 99 individuals, which is considered a big success as it is well beyond the proposal target of 45. The event was not recorded due to GDPR restrictions involving higher education students. However, a rich list of screen shots provide insight on the activities that took place. Students had the opportunity to see a demo of the HERA game and to work on it hands-on in groups of 4 individuals. The collaboration was possible due to the HERA game’s distance collaboration tools that include a chat, a brainstorming area, and a task scheduling application. The scenario that the students worked on was designed so that the goals could only be achieved through collaboration.
See below a description of the event as a press release that was issued for dissemination purposes:
Digital Games for Problem-Based Learning in Engineering and Economics Education
The Department of Energy Systems and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Thessaly co-organize a presentation of digital applications that aim to develop problem-solving skills for students of polytechnic schools. The presentation targets students of the Department of Energy Systems and will be delivered under the auspices of the Head of the Department of Energy Systems, Associate Professor Dr. Elpniki Papageorgiou. The presentation will take place through the MSTEAMS platform on Friday 16 April 2021 and will run from 11.30 to 13.00.
The presentation takes place in the context of project HERA: Re-engineering Higher Education through Active Learning for Growth that is funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ program through the Hellenic Administrative Authority IKY .
The project deploys digital technology for the development of fundamental knowledge as well as mild skills, such as analytical and critical thinking, business thinking, collaboration capacity, independent research capacity, and lifelong learning, which young engineers need in the ever-evolving labor market in innovation sectors.
To this end, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Thessaly, and more specifically the Creative Technologies Learning Lab, designs learning interventions that expose students to complex problems whose solution requires the combination of interdisciplinary knowledge from polytechnic and economic sciences. Learning is supported by a digital educational game that challenges students to introduce solutions to complex scenarios inspired by city design processes. Examples of scenarios include infrastructure planning for e-Commerce, flood protection, smart parking, waste management, and more. The game is designed for multiple concurrent users who are invited to fulfill their mission in a team with a common goal. Students adopt roles and work together within realistic frameworks of individual and group constraints and priorities to contribute to the achievement of the broader mission.
The audience will have the opportunity to follow a presentation on the benefits of active and problem-based learning for building 21st century skills. They will experience a demonstration of the learning game developed in the HERA project and experiment with the game hands-on. Finally, the audience will exchange views on the innovative integration of emerging learning methodologies and digital technology in higher education.
Event program see the program
Press release see the press release
Screen shots from the event see the screen shots
Project presentation see the presentation
Dissemination through organizational portals
On the UTH portal see link
On the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering portal see link
On the Department of Energy Systems portal see link
On the Department of Energy Systems portal see link
On the Creative Technologies learning lab portal see link
UTH Facebook(r) page see link
On the CTLL Facebook(r) page see link
Dissemination in the news!
e-Thessalia newspaper see link
Larissanet newspaper see link
Mixanikos news outlet see link