When creating an ecosystem meant to serve all of Europe, the key to success surely lies in cross-border collaboration. The situation is no different when creating an open badge ecosystem for the game industry. As these open badges cater to both educational institutions and companies, it is essential that the supporting Council has a similar composition. At its best, the Council serves as a pivotal platform to share insights, align game education with industry standards, and contribute to the development of a competence-based digital badge system.
Gamebadges project creates value for European game industry
In February 2024, the Gamebadges project embarked on a mission to establish Europe’s first-ever Open Badge ecosystem tailored for the game industry. The assessment will be based on a review process and the badges will be competence-based. (1) Coordinated by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, this initiative aims to standardize professional competencies and foster collaboration between game industry experts and educators.
Picture: Alexandra_Koch / Pixabay, modified by Ria Gynther
By providing a comprehensive digital platform grounded in an up-to-date Competence Map, Gamebadges not only offers recognition for professionals but also aligns game education with industry demands. Supported by nine Full Partners and over 20 Associated Partners, and co-financed through Erasmus+ Alliances for Innovation, Gamebadges is working towards this goal until January 2027.
Annual Network Council supports collaboration
At the center of the Gamebadges project is collaboration among a broad network of partners from both industry and education, as well as organizations supporting the field. Full Partners are primarily responsible for executing the project, while Associated Partners play a supportive yet valuable role. Together, these partners form the Gamebadges consortium. The consortium is roughly equally divided between education and industry experts, with representation from eight different countries. Gamebadges consortium members are listed on project website.
To foster this collaboration, Gamebadges is hosting an annual Network Council online gathering for the consortium members. The first meeting took place in June 2024 and was organized by Metropolia.
This Council aims to enhance interaction and cooperation among consortium members. The project relies on the expertise and networks of each partner, and understanding the strengths and goals of each is important. Sharing this information with all members can foster greater collaboration.
The first Network Council built up trust
During the first Network Council meeting, participants were briefed on the project timeline and introduced to the latest progress. Although the project has only just begun, consortium members have already shared their expertise and participated in surveys and interviews aimed at updating the Competence Map, on which the badge ecosystem will be based. The work is extensive and nearly impossible without large-scale support throughout Europe.
After the updates, rest of the meeting was dedicated to partnership building. This was the first time when majority of the consortium was gathered, and the list of organization names was actualized. Some partners had already used the previous version of the Competence Map and shared concrete cases on where and how it can be used. The participants also had the opportunity to contribute to the current development of the competence map co-creation during the meeting.
Future of the Network Council
In the future, council members will be able to share with each other the different ways they have used the badge ecosystem and the Competence Map.
Feedback will be valuable not only for the partners developing the badge ecosystem but also for generating more ideas on how the system can benefit all consortium members and future user.
Later in 2024, Gamebadges will launch a prototype of the new map structure and begin developing the actual badges. In 2025, consortium members will test the badge ecosystem in their organizations and become early adopters of this pioneering system.
Author
Ria Gynther has been focusing on game industry related development projects and is currently working as a project coordinator for the Gamebadges project at Metropolia since 2017.
Sources
- Council of Europe 2024. Digital Open Badges. (eu.coe.int)
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