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The International Student Team Simulation Game, using the online simulation game GRIP, replicates the dynamics of interaction within international student teams. The game helps them prepare for challenges when working on long-term projects.
About the game
The simulation replicates the dynamics of interaction within international student teams working on long-term company consultancy assignments. These teams often encounter various challenges throughout their projects, including:
- Individual team members freeriding.
- Diverging ambitions and expectations regarding the quality of work, project importance, and grade aspirations.
- Scheduling issues due to conflicting course schedules and non-university activities.
Consequently, many groups experience tensions and conflicts at certain points during their projects, leading to underperformance. The simulation helps new teams prepare for these challenges.
In the simulation, teams are comprised of 4-6 students. Ideally, these groups mirror the ones in which the students will work on their company assignments.
Objectives
The simulation prepares students to:
- Work as a team and get to know each other. The team simulation is a good starting point for groups of students who do not yet know each other.
- Understand how project work is often interrupted by unforeseen events.
- Understand the importance of making clear commitments at the beginning of the project work and planning early.
- Manage the trade-offs between team interests and individual interests.
Game mechanics
- Players: 4-6 players per game
- Location: Online
- Duration:
- Basic session: 120 mins
- Extended session: 195 mins (120 mins basic + 75 mins extension)
A teaching note (see Downloads) has been developed as a manual to guide instructors in using the online simulation game. The manual consists of 4 parts:
- The teaching plan: This section provides specific information on the learning objectives and teaching opportunities.
- The technical guide: This section assists instructors in running the simulation and instructing the players.
- The simulation overview: This section includes screenshots and descriptions of user and instructor screens.
- Appendices: This section includes information on the tools that can be used in class for the debriefing and analysis.
A few days before the simulation, the students need to be informed about the purpose of the simulation in the context of their group work and receive information about their team players and their roles. To help them understand the simulation, there is a test mural as well as a short instruction video on the simulation.
At the start of the simulation, it may be good to reiterate the purpose of the game and inform students about the timeline of the simulation, including the debrief. Then, the groups can start with the simulation. For this purpose, the instructor connects to the website. On the Welcome page, there are two buttons. The first step is to click on the ‘Rules’ button to start a 10-minute tutorial that guides the student through the setup of the simulation.
After the groups have reached the end of the tutorial, the instructor clicks on the ‘Start’ button to begin the real simulation.
At several intervals during the teams receive communications about unexpected events or interventions from the company coach that require actions from the student team. The student moderator reveals them on the Mural and shares his or her screen to show it to other students. The simulation takes 60 minutes.
When the simulation is over, the student moderator reveals the scoring form to calculate team scores and individual scores. Team scores range from 0 to 10, and the individual scores range from -8 to +2.
When playing the game, keep the following in mind:
- Ideally, students should play the simulation at home. Students should not be playing together in the same location because of interference from microphones.
- Use of laptops and desktop computers (tablets are not recommended).
- Open the simulation in a browser. Use the latest version of Chrome, Safari, Firefox etc.
- Zoom is the preferred communication platform because of smooth video playback.
- Enable private chat in the settings so students can have private communication.
- Enable screen sharing in breakout rooms.
For a general overview of your actions, watch the instructor video (Password: International Teams).
At this moment, the game can only be played within the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). If you would like to explore the possibilities of making the game available within your faculty, please contact the Community for Learning & Innovation.
