Image
credit: Earth to Mars VR Serious Game by Headspring
Earth-to-Mars, a Virtual
Reality Serious Game co-created by eLearning Studios and Headspring, the executive development joint venture of
Financial Times and IE Business School, has won silver honors in the 2019 International
Serious Play Awards competition in the Company Training category.
Earth-to-Mars claims
to be the first of its kind in the executive learning space, allowing leaders to test themselves in formidable situations.
Departing from the background presumption that leaders work in
challenging circumstances — staying focused under pressure, dealing with complex
and conflicting priorities, and pivoting when needs require, the game uses
Virtual Reality to simulate such pressures in a learning experience.
Image credit: Earth to Mars VR Serious Game by Headspring
Earth-to-Mars is
designed for two-players connected wirelessly. One player experiences the Mars
basecamp in virtual reality, the other runs Earth’s Mission Control using an
interactive tablet. Gameplay is estimated to take 30-45 minutes.
“Together, players navigate a number of incidents requiring them to
lead, collaborate and negotiate. As with life, things are not always
straightforward; and they must cope with problems, twists and surprises along
the way,” says Nitin Thakrar, CEO of eLearning Studios.
“Depending on how the
facilitator wants to use it, the game’s learning outcomes include perseverance,
keeping focused under pressure, evidence-based decision-making, negotiating in
the moment, and dealing with the unknown,” he adds.
Image credit: Earth to Mars VR Serious Game by Headspring
Headspring’s Learning Architect, Ian Shakeshaft says, “Serious Games
take on different meanings when used across different groups. That’s why Earth-to-Mars is
designed to be flexible. Learning doesn’t depend on winning the game, rather in
how the players deal with challenges. We don’t learn from experiences per-se,
but from reflecting on those experiences.”
Headspring Identity Launch – June
2019
Headspring, the new identity of the joint venture between the Financial
Times and IE Business School, was officially launched at an exclusive event
held in the walkways of London’s iconic Tower Bridge on 12th June.
Since the organization’s formation some five years ago, Headspring has
been redefining the ethos of executive education. Now officially assuming a new
brand and identity, Headspring aims to be a future-focused, client-centric
source of inspiration in executive education, constantly challenging the status
quo.
Speaking at the Tower Bridge launch event, Headspring’s CEO, Gustaf
Nordbäck, said, “Our goal is to create a new model of executive education that
will be useful for the 21st century. That involves change and, to change
something, you need to build a new model that fundamentally makes the old model
obsolete.
Nordbäck explained, “Headspring isn’t a business school. It’s not a
traditional executive education provider. Nor is it a bureau of distinguished
journalists. Rather, we’re a learning partner which empowers organizations’
people and harnesses change to transform businesses. We provide the diversity
of thought that’s needed to overcome today’s business challenges. Headspring
combines an academic foundation, an inquisitive mindset – driven by 60 FT
journalists – and all this is grounded in a real business context.”
The event enabled the 150 or so guests at the launch to experience the Serious
Game, Earth-to-Mars.
Headspring, the executive development joint venture of the Financial Times and IE Business School, empowers organizations to embrace change and inspire a culture of continuous learning. It achieves transformational results by working in partnership with organizations globally to co-create bespoke, future-focused learning designs that empower people, develop leaders and enhance the strengths of businesses. It designs and delivers customized education and leadership programs, taking the business acumen, academic rigor and innovative approach of IE Business School and a global network of expert educators, adding the perspectives and skills of the most influential Financial Times journalists.
Headspring Executive Development was originally formed in 2015 by the Financial Times and IE Business School as the Corporate Learning Alliance.