BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam//NONSGML v1.0//EN NAME:Winter School - Serious Gaming for Household Disaster Resilience METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20261201T000000 DTEND:20261204T235900 DTSTAMP:20261201T000000 UID:winter-school-serious-gaming-f@8F96275E-9F55-4B3F-A143-836282E12573 CREATED:20260825T211433 LOCATION:Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1105, De Boelelaan, 1081 HV, Amsterdam SUMMARY:Winter School - Serious Gaming for Household Disaster Resilience X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

This is a joint wint er school organized and hosted by the University of Twente and of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

School Description:

In this winter school, you will be guided in a group to create your own serious game for household disaster resilience, Wi nter School exploring the dilemmas and opportunities involved in addr essing household resilience. You will work together with an interdisc iplinary team of experts to reflect on the different challenges, usin g interactive methods.

Within the context of disaster resilienc e, a big challenge currently is translating the scientific knowledge into tools that local communities can genuinely use. Serious games pr ovide a powerful tool to translate this knowledge. Through this inter active and playful yet serious format, real-world dilemmas can be lea rnt about in a way that is accessible and engaging for the public. Bu t creating such a game requires careful consideration.

Througho ut the program, you will address questions such as: How do we design a game that realistically reflects the lived experiences of household s? How can scientific knowledge be translated using a game in a way t hat is both accessible and educational? How can the insights from the game then be made in a way that can bring forth genuine community ac tion?

Through hands-on workshops, expert lecturers, collaborati ve exercises and playtesting sessions you will be able to evaluate al ready existing preparedness games, explore different methods of co-de signing, and assess risks and (unintended) consequences in order to&n bsp; properly weigh ethical dilemmas into mechanics.

By the end of the three-day Winter School, each participant (or group) will hav e created a playable prototype for their serious game, grounded in th eir own professional context. Certain prototypes developed during the Winter School may be selected to be developed and polished further, being presented at a relevant expo or festival, offering the particip ants further visibility and feedback from experts, inspiring even mor e innovation.


Practical information:

Dates & Location:December 1-4, 2026
LevelMA/PhD/Postdoc/practitioners
Fees:< /strong>

€ 0 VU & UT students 

€ 50 KUN O members

€ 50 (other students)

€ 150 (practitioners)

€ 0 practitioners from EEAC countries


Fees include a 3-day Winter School at the University of Twente, including lunch and 1 dinner in Amsterdam. Fees do not cover accommodation.

Academic coordinators:< p>Dr. Nathan Clark, Faculty of Organisational Science, Vrije Universi teit Amsterdam

Dr. Eefje Hendriks, Faculty of Geo-information a nd Earth Observation Science, University of Twente

Academic team:

Prof. dr. Kees Boersm a

dr. Steven Forrest

Prof. dr. Marc van den Homberg

Prof. dr. Johannes Flacke

dr. Michael Nagenborg

dr. Cari ssa Champlin

dr. Janneke Ettema

Questions and Contact Details:serious.gaming.ws@gma il.com


Requirements

The winter school is designed for:

< ul>
  • Excellent MA students willing to either engage in a career a s a disaster risk reduction experts or in a PhD on the topic
    • Academic Researchers: PhD candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and est ablished researchers specializing in crisis and disaster management, organizational networks, or institutional resilience
  • Other external stakeholders: national and local policy-makers (both in civi l society organizations and government agencies)

    • Applican ts are expected to have a background in disaster science or related d isciplines, as well as a good command of the English language (B2/C1) to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English.


    Learning Outcomes:

    After the school, participants will be able to:

    The winter school will offer a combination of:


    Workload

    Upon successful co mpletion of the programme, the winter school offers a Certificate of Attendance. After successfully completing the assignment, they will r eceive their Certificate of Attendance that mentions the workload in hours (28 hours corresponds to 1 ECTS). Students can apply for recogn ition of these credits to the relevant authorities in their home inst itutions, therefore the final decision on awarding credits is at the discretion of their home institutions. We will be happy to provide an y necessary information that might be requested in addition to the ce rtificate of attendance.


    Application procedu re

    To apply, please fill out the online application fo rm. Please note that you will be asked to upload the following docume nt:

    The dead line for application is 1 September 2026. Selection will be based on the fit between the prospective participants’ CVs and motivation an d the topic of the school. Keep in mind that there’s a limited numb er of participants. Payments will be taken only once participation is confirmed.

    Sign up via this link

    DESCRIPTION: This is a joint winter school organized and hosted by the University of Twente and of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. School Description:    In this winter school, you will be guid ed in a group to create your own serious game for household disaster resilience, Winter School exploring the dilemmas and opportunities in volved in addressing household resilience. You will work together wit h an interdisciplinary team of experts to reflect on the different ch allenges, using interactive methods.Within the context of disaster re silience, a big challenge currently is translating the scientific kno wledge into tools that local communities can genuinely use. Serious g ames provide a powerful tool to translate this knowledge. Through thi s interactive and playful yet serious format, real-world dilemmas can be learnt about in a way that is accessible and engaging for the pub lic. But creating such a game requires careful consideration.Througho ut the program, you will address questions such as: How do we design a game that realistically reflects the lived experiences of household s? How can scientific knowledge be translated using a game in a way t hat is both accessible and educational? How can the insights from the game then be made in a way that can bring forth genuine community ac tion?Through hands-on workshops, expert lecturers, collaborative exer cises and playtesting sessions you will be able to evaluate already e xisting preparedness games, explore different methods of co-designing , and assess risks and (unintended) consequences in order to  pr operly weigh ethical dilemmas into mechanics.By the end of the three- day Winter School, each participant (or group) will have created a pl ayable prototype for their serious game, grounded in their own profes sional context. Certain prototypes developed during the Winter School may be selected to be developed and polished further, being presente d at a relevant expo or festival, offering the participants further v isibility and feedback from experts, inspiring even more innovation.< br>Practical information:
    Dates & Location:December 1-4, 2026
    LevelMA/PhD/Postdoc/practition ers
    Fees:€ 0 VU & UT students € 50 KUNO members€ 50 (other students)€ 150 (p ractitioners)€ 0 practitioners from EEAC countries
    Fees include a 3-day Winter School at the University of Twente, including lunch an d 1 dinner in Amsterdam. Fees do not cover accommodation.
    Academic coordinators:Dr. Nathan Cl ark, Faculty of Organisational Science, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamD r. Eefje Hendriks, Faculty of Geo-information and Earth Observation S cience, University of Twente
    Academic team :Prof. dr. Kees Boersmadr. Steven ForrestProf. dr. Marc van den HombergProf. dr. Johannes Flackedr. Michael Nagenborgdr. Carissa Champlindr. Janneke Ettema
    Questi ons and Contact Details:serious.gaming.ws@gmail.com

    RequirementsTh e winter school is designed for:Applicants are expected to have a back ground in disaster science or related disciplines, as well as a good command of the English language (B2/C1) to actively participate in th e discussions and to present their own work in English.
    Le arning Outcomes:After the school, participants will be able to:The winter school will offer a combination of:
    WorkloadUpon successful completion o f the programme, the winter school offers a Certificate of Attendance . After successfully completing the assignment, they will receive the ir Certificate of Attendance that mentions the workload in hours (28 hours corresponds to 1 ECTS). Students can apply for recognition of t hese credits to the relevant authorities in their home institutions, therefore the final decision on awarding credits is at the discretion of their home institutions. We will be happy to provide any necessar y information that might be requested in addition to the certificate of attendance.
    Application procedureTo apply, ple ase fill out the online application form. Please note that you will b e asked to upload the following document:The deadline for application is 1 September 20 26. Selection will be based on the fit between the prospective partic ipants’ CVs and motivation and the topic of the school. Keep in min d that there’s a limited number of participants. Payments will be t aken only once participation is confirmed.Sign up via this link END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR