Spationomy 2.0

Spatial exploration of economic data

About

We all know that the learning process is easier if it contains playful features. It is then more pleasant to acquire new knowledge and mastering our skills. Simulation game-based learning appears to be more playful and experiential compared to traditional teaching.

This project aims to innovate the way of teaching about the distinct field of economics, business, geoinformatics and geography, all encompassed by game studies, via modern methods of informal teaching (gamification and playful education) and virtual telecollaborative techniques. The project tackles the issue of learning-by-doing by playing a serious and scientifically based simulation game. This game-based learning transforms traditional means of higher education classes into innovative, creative learning environments in which all participants (teachers and students) will be engaged in solving real-world issues through gaming scenarios.

The project also aims to share best practice across disciplinary and national boundaries. The project will encourage to develop deep interdisciplinary cooperation and research sharing among the involved institutions in the field of geoinformatics/geography, economics/business and game studies. This unique combination will be accompanied by the idea of bringing more spatial and economic science into the gaming domain by tackling the issue of “lacking science and real-world situations in educational games.” During the blended mobility, students will learn and adopt joint methodologies/techniques/tools and they serve as actors in “spatial economic/business analytics games”, deployed to structure group-based and student-led investigations of advanced spatial economic data analyses. Students will be enrolled in the process to think, use, write and talk about their experiences. The project will entail more attractive and relevant pedagogy than lecture or seminar based approaches.

Improve Your Interdisciplinary Skills

Virtual Education

Team Thinking

Share Ideas

Playful Learning

Real-word simulations

Game design

Creativity

8

days physical mobility

1 + 1

summer school + GameCon

5

universities

30

students

15

lecturers

3+

virtual lectures

Activities

VirES - Virtual part

Virtual Education and Summerchool (VirES) is the central feature of the Spationomy 2.0 project representing blended mobility for students rated
as the ECTS course. Virtual part is an introductory  and initial online meeting of all the participants at the beginning of the course. There are three sessions in which students gain knowledge about other fields (geoinformatics, economy/business, game studies), supplemented by learning and teaching materials via simple e-learning system. This 3-session virtual part is focused on:

  • Equalizing knowledge about different fields of study
  • Establishing students working groups for the next phase of VirES
  • Thematic project creation as source for game design

VirES - summer school

The physical mobility part of the VirES is represented by the 8-days course - Spationomy 2.0 summer school. This is a key activity of the project since the students will have a chance to meet in person, share their experiences and skills, establish international teams, play the simulation game and finally work on the new game rounds.

In the first cycle, the Summerschool will be held in Maribor (Slovenia).

GameCons

The GameCon is a one-day event where local and international participants will have the opportunity to play the spatial economic simulation game developed during the previous Spationomy 2.0 activities (i.e. VirES). It is a unique encounter of people outside the partnership consortium, who will playtest the current stage of the Game Package. It is a logical last step in one year cycle of Spationomy 2.0 as regards the improvements, updates, and development of the simulation game.

There are three GameCons scheduled during the project lifespan - the first two in Utrecht (Netherlands), and the last one in Olomouc (Czechia) along with the final conference at the end of the project.

SciLabs 2.0

The Scientific Laboratory 2.0 - SciLab 2.0 - builds on a good practice from former Spationomy project activity, which was extremely beneficial and fruitful in terms of the scientific collaboration among the partner staff members (more than formerly planned number of scientific papers were finally published). The main focus of this interdisciplinary joint training is to encourage development and writing of scientific papers and scientific-popular materials. This will strengthen interdisciplinary cooperation and facilitate a joint research agenda. Last but not least the SciLab 2.0 event will also give a chance to check the project progress and set up the future steps of the team.

Spationomy 2.0 Final Conference

  • 11/2022

    Olomouc (Czechia) - done

    The Final Conference represented the “grand finale” and closure of Spationomy 2.0. This 1-day conference took place on 10th November 2022 in Olomouc; since the MVSO is the beneficiary and project coordinator. The conference brought together, students, academicians, education practitioners, teachers, and also representatives from local authorities (city and regional council, schools), interested not only in the spatial and economic science in higher education in the context of playful methodologies (simulation game), but also in playful methods in education (or education as such) or spatial planning. This proved that the conference was opened to a wider audience with the objective to share project outcomes more widely with interested stakeholders. The conference reflected on the lessons learnt and best practices from the project as a whole. See more at https://spationomy.mvso.cz/2.0/conference/.

3rd spationomy 2.0 summerschool

  • 11/2022

    Olomouc (Czechia) - done

    In this last cycle, the summer school was organised in Olomouc at the beneficiary institution in November 2022 (3-10.11.2022). In total, 31 students participated in the virtual and physical parts. The summer school itself took the best practices from the previous one (in terms of scheduling the learning/teaching slots and their content) in order to give students more space to create and develop gamerounds. At the same time, we took advantage of the fact that the Final conference was organized at the end of the summer school, so the students purposefully prepared their games into a playable form so that they could be presented (and played) at the final event of the project.

2nd GAMECON UTRECHT

  • 08/2022

    Utrecht (Netherlands) - done

    This one-day event with local and international participants focused on the opportunity to play thespatial economic simulation game developed within the Spationomy project. Again, we took the opportunity to integrate Game Con into a wider summer school in Utrecht organised by members of the UU team. This year's summer school theme was "Ecogames. Games and Play in Sustainability Awareness, Communication and Action". The Spationomy Game Con 2022 was given the day 2 of the summerschool with the label "Scenario-planning games" with both ways benefit. So that the original idea of a Game Con event "to serve as a platform for direct sharing and dissemination of the project major results... and widen a network of potential players of the game and colleagues from the field of game studies and research." It created an excellent networking atmosphere stimulating the dissemination of the Spationomy further beyond the project niche.

3rd SPATIONOMY 2.0 SCILAB

  • 06/2022

    Maribor (Slovenia) - done

    This SciLab represented the last meeting of staff members within the format of "short-term joint staff training events". The main agenda of the training event included check-out ofthe research outputs achieved to date, and mainly the presentation of and discussion about the Spationomy methodology (IO1) and on the Plug and Play game package (IO4), which was virtual via MS Teams presented by the UU research assistants (supervised by UU staff members present at the SciLab). Apart from that, the regular project agenda and planning (especially arrangements for the very last cycle of the project and the upcoming Game Con event in Utrecht in August 2022) were thoroughly discussed

2nd Spationomy 2.0 Summerschool

  • 05/2022

    Bochum (Germany) - done

    In total 31 participating students underwent the summer school in Bochum, held from 4 to 11 May 2022. At the summer school, students presented their game rounds from the virtual part. Valuable reflection followes as other participants provided comments through a different lens. Then, we played the original simulation game to familiarize the students with the game mechanics and also to stimulate their game thinking. Series of workshops on game design, redesign, rethinking, discursive and critical game design, game mechanics and its description using a game loop, prototyping or IT tools for game development followed. After, students dedicated time for their teamwork on developing, mutual play-testing, and finalizing the game with the "elevator" pitches  of their games. Lastly, students' games were formalized into the form of a compendium with a detailed description of their games.

2nd Spationomy 2.0 SciLab

  • 03/2022

    Bochum (Germany) - done

    Staff members met again in order to share their research and findings reached since the first SciLab (inOlomouc in January 2020). The main content of the meeting included the research agenda, and intellectual outputs to make surethat all the results are carried out on time. Besides, the regular project agenda and planning. Moreover, a "scientific colloquium" was organized with special guests (expert scholars on game theory - Stefan Winter (RUB) - and city-building games - Jan Piňos (UPOL), and members - Santeri Jaakkola (Seppo) - of a private sector company developing a game-based education platform) as part of the SciLab.

1st Spationomy 2.0 Winterschool

  • 11/2021

    Maribor (Slovenia) - done

    Finally, from November 2 to 10, 2021, we had the opportunity to bring all the participants together physically in one place. Under strict epidemiological precautions, over 40 Spationomy 2.0 participants gathered in Maribor, Slovenia. On the agenda were activities related to the gamification of the related disciplines of geoinformatics, geography, economics and business informatics. With the help of new colleagues from Utrecht (Netherlands), we transformed the original simulation game into a new form, new game modes and design. This resulted in a fantastic 6 new rounds of the game. We thank everyone for a fruitful eight days and look forward to seeing the next batch of students in 2022.

1st Spationomy 2.0 GameCon

  • 08/2021

    Utrecht (Netherlands) - done

    In the second half of August, the Game Research Summer School took place at the University of Utrecht, where we had the unique opportunity to host a one-day GameCon event on the simulation game Spationomy. It was a great opportunity for us, the developers of the game, as well as for the nearly twenty GameCon participants from different European countries to push the game concept a little further. Moreover, the whole event allowed to introduce the ideas of the interdisciplinary project Spationomy 2.0 to a wider public.

Timeline in brief

  • 10/2019

    Initial Project Meeting - done

    3 days, Olomouc (Czechia)

  • 01/2020

    1st SciLab 2.0 - done

    3 days, Olomouc (Czechia)

  • 02/2020

    VirES - virtual part

    lecture session; done but later postponed

  • 03/2020

    COVID-19 :-(

    All events cancelled and re-scheduled

  • 08/2021

    GameCon (virtual)

    semi-virtual 1-day event in Utrecht, Netherlands - done

  • 09/2021

    VirES - virtual part

    virtual lecture sessions - done

  • 11/2021

    VirES - physical part

    8-days winterschool (summerschool reloaded), Maribor, Slovenia - done

  • 12/2021

    2nd SciLab 2.0

    3 days, Bochum (Germany) - postponed due to pandemic :-(

  • 02/2022

    VirES - virtual part

    virtual lecture sessions - done

  • 03/2022

    2nd SciLab 2.0 - done

    3 days, Bochum (Germany)

  • 05/2022

    VirES - physical part

    8 days, Bochum (Germany) - done

  • 06/2022

    3rd SciLab 2.0

    3 days, Maribor (Slovenia) - done

  • 08/2022

    Game Con Utrecht

    1 day gaming event, Utrecht (Netherlands) - done

  • 09/2022

    VirES - virtual part

    virtual lecture sessions - done

  • 11/2022

    VirES - physical part

    8 days, Olomouc (Czechia) - done

  • 11/2022

    The Final Conference

    1 day main grand finale event, Olomouc (Czechia) - done

Team

Vít Pászto (MVSO)

Vit Pászto holds PhD from Palacký University Olomouc in the field of geoinformatics and cartography. He is member of both Moravian Business College Olomouc (MVSO) and Palacký University Olomouc (UPOL). He focuses on geocomputation methods, spatial analyses of socio-economic data, human geography and rural/urban issues.

He is the project manager of the Spationomy 2.0.

Simona Sternad-Zabukovšek (UM)

Simona Sternad Zabukovšek holds PhD in Management Information Sciences from University of Ljubljana. She is an assistant professor of E-business and Information Management at School of Economics and Business at University of Maribor. Her research area is E-business (especially design of web sites and portals and solutions of digital marketing), Business Process Reengineering, Business Information Systems (especially ERP and CRM solutions), Digital Business transformation and Digital literacy. In the project, she is responsible for business informatics issues, and is Spationomy 2.0 coordinator at UM.

Jaroslav Burian (UPOL)

Jaroslav Burian received his Ph.D. in Cartography, geoinformatics and Remote sensing from Charles University, Prague. He has been working at Palacký University Olomouc (UPOL) since 2007. His professional specialization is primarily on the issues of spatial planning and modelling of the urban processes in GIS. In the project, he is the key person from UPOL.

Carsten Jürgens (RUB)

Carsten Juergens received his Ph.D. degree in the field of geography from Trier University, and the Habilitation degree in the field of geography from University of Regensburg. He is a Full Professor of Remote Sensing with the Geomatics Group, Geography Department, Ruhr-University, Bochum (RUB), Germany. His research interests include urban remote sensing, change detection analysis, historical aerial images and digital image processing techniques. He is the key point of contact for the German team of the Spationomy project.

René Glas (UU)

René Glas graduated in Film and New Media at the University of Amsterdam in 2003. René received his Ph.D. at the same University in 2010 focusing on the participatory culture of massive multiplayer online role-playing games. Since 2010, René works as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University. His primary field is game studies Studiesincluding game history and culture, fan and participatory culture, cheating and other forms of deviant play, and the relationship between play and research methods. In Spationomy 2.0, he is the key person from UU.

Jarmila Zimmermannová (MVSO)

Jarmila Zimmermannova received her Ph.D. degree from University of Economics in Prague in the field of economic policy. She is a member of team of Moravian Business College Olomouc (MVSO). She focuses both in her teaching and research on topics connected with microeconomics, macroeconomics, economic policy and environmental economics. In the Spationomy project, she is responsible for topics around economy. At the time, she is the MVSO rector.

Polona Tominc (UM)

Polona Tominc, PhD, is a Full-time Professor in the Department of Quantitative Economic Analysis at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor (UM). Her research is focused on statistical methods in economics and business sciences, especially in the field of entrepreneurship and gender differences. She teaches statistics, research methods and quantitative methods.

Jiří Pánek (UPOL)

Jiří Pánek holds PhD from Palacký University Olomouc in the field of development studies. He is a member of Palacký University Olomouc (UPOL), where he works with community mapping, perceptional data and participatory planning.
He is responsible for GIS related issues in the project.

Andreas P. Redecker (RUB)

Andreas Redecker received his doctor of natural sciences in the field of geography from Ruhr-University Bochum. He holds a position like a senior lecturer in the Geomatics Group, Geography Department, Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB), Germany. His main research interests include GIS, Remote Sensing and Transport Geography.
In this project, he is resposible for education and support regarding GIS, Remote Sensing and Cartography.

Jasper van Vught (UU)

Jasper van Vught holds his PhD :-)

Michal Menšík (MVSO)

Michal Menšík holds PhD from University of Economics, Prague (UEP) in the field of Management accounting. He is a full time active on Moravian Business College Olomouc (MVSO) and has a part time at UEP. His main area of focus is quantitative methods in management accounting and strategic management accounting as well as teaching methods applied in management accounting.
Michal is responsible for management education in area of project and team management.

Samo Bobek (UM)

Samo Bobek holds PhD in Business Sciences from University of Maribor. He is professor of E-business and Information Management at School of Economics and Business at University of Maribor. His research areas are E-business, IT/IS Governance and Information management, Digital Business transformation, Banking technology. In the project, he is responsible for business informatics issues.

Karel Macků (UPOL)

Karel Macků obtained his PhD in 2020 at the Department of Geoinformatics, Palacký University Olomouc (UPOL). His main research is focused on evaluation of quality of life using quantitative methods and spatial/statistical data. In the Spationomy project, he is responsible for visualization and analytical topics.

 

Nicolai Moos (RUB)

Nicolai Moos holds his PhD from the Geomatics Group, Geography Department, Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB), Germany. He teaches GIS and Geovisualisation for bachelor students of various departments as well as object-based classification and processing with Google Earth Engine for master students.

His main research is focused on the field of Socio-Geomatics and environmental justice. In the spationomy project he is responsible for all topics around GIS.

Stefan Werning (UU)

Stefan Werning is an Associate Professor for Digital Media and Game Studies at Utrecht University, where he organizes the annual ‘Multidisciplinary Game Research’ summer school and coordinates the special interest group ‘Thinking Through Games’ within the Game Research focus area. He obtained a PhD (2010) in media studies from Bonn University and his venia legendi at Bayreuth University (2015). Stefan has been a visiting scholar (2005) and fellow (2006-2010) at the program in Comparative Media Studies at MIT. Moreover, he has worked in the digital games industry, notably at Codemasters (2005) and Nintendo of Europe (2007-09).