Case Study - University of Waterloo

Can you tell me a bit about the course that features the simulation?

"The course was about management consulting and very few students had a business background or had even undertaken any previous business courses. The simulation formed the backbone of an exercise where student teams were required to a) learn by doing (the simulation) and b) turn around and use their knowledge to “consult” to another team of students on their business' performance at the end of the game."

WHY DID YOU CONSIDER USING BUSINESS SIMULATIONS?

"The pandemic made it difficult for students to conduct in-class exercises. The simulation allowed me to “lift-out” what would have been an in-class exercise and replace it with something that could go either way (online, in-person, or hybrid)."

What Learning Outcomes did the simulation help achieve?

"The simulation was a great way to infuse the class with teamwork and some friendly competition. But more importantly, the results allowed each student team to act as a consultant for an in-class “client” (i.e., another student team). As such, the students learned how to structure their analysis and recommendations in the form explained in the class material."

How Are Students Assessed On The Module?

"The students were not assessed on the simulation results themselves, although the two winning teams were awarded a box of donuts each. Instead, they were assessed on the logical structure of their final “client deliverable” to another student team [consultancy presentation]."

What Has Student Feedback Been Like?

"The feedback was excellent. The students enjoyed the gamification experience immensely. I should also add that the support from Abzy at Edumundo was critical to the success. The underlying algorithm is pretty complex so I often worried that I didn’t have the intimate knowledge required to answer all student questions. Abzy joined us via Zoom (and in-person once) for about 15 minutes in each of the eight consecutive classes even though it was the middle of the night in Dubai! As such, he acted as a “consultant to the consultants” and even fielded questions by email between classes. I’m sure that was above and beyond the expectations and it was greatly appreciated by the students and me."