Workshop: Game-based Learning for Sustainability in Management Education (GAME-SME)

Call for Papers

This workshop aims to provide an interactive platform for participants to share and discuss research findings, pedagogical strategies, and practical experiences in utilizing business games as tools for teaching sustainability principles in management courses. The primary objective is to explore the intersection of two dynamic streams of research and educational trends: the utilization of learning/experimental games and the incorporation of sustainability themes in management education. We invite contributions that explore the design, implementation, and outcomes of business games specifically tailored to teach sustainability concepts (e.g., circular economy, industrial symbiosis, life-cycle assessment, energy efficiency, transport decarbonization, etc.). Furthermore, it would be compelling to collect teaching initiatives across diverse education levels, encompassing high school, university and PhD programs, as well as executive masters. 

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• examination of diverse pedagogical strategies employed in business games to foster a comprehensive understanding of sustainability issues among students; 

• empirical studies evaluating the impact of business games on learning outcomes, sustainability knowledge retention, and the development of managerial skills; 

• exploration of the interdisciplinary connections between business games, sustainability, and management education, highlighting the potential for cross-disciplinary collaboration; examination of how technology, including simulation platforms and virtual environments, can enhance the effectiveness of business games in teaching sustainability within management education;

• in-depth case studies illustrating successful implementations of business games that have significantly contributed to the integration of sustainability topics in management education. 

Expected outcomes:

• enhanced understanding of the relationship between business games and sustainability education;

• practical insights and tools for designing and implementing effective business games in management education;

• networking opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Submission guidelines

Authors worldwide are invited to submit original and unpublished extended abstracts. All papers will be peer-reviewed by the Workshop Program committee based on their significance, methodological soundness, originality, and clarity of exposition. 

We welcome the submission of extended abstracts to the main conference that align with the topics of interest for our workshop, and we will consider these submissions for review and potential inclusion in our event. 

Submitted extended abstracts should adhere to the SEED 2024 guidelines and be uploaded in PDF format (ranging between 4 and 9 pages). Submissions must utilize the provided Microsoft Word template and be sent via the Google form provided below.

Participation is restricted to those who have registered for the International Conference on Sustainable Energy Education 

(SEED 2024) ⭢ Registration deadline: June 19, 2024

Publication opportunities

The Workshop Organizing Committee will provide an extended abstract of the findings of the workshop will be published as a book with a DOI and ISBN (managed by SEED conference organizers)

The Workshop Organizing Committee is actively in discussions with a leading journal to explore the possibility of publishing a Special Issue including the full paper version of selected works presented during the workshop. More details will be provided shortly.

Workshop Organizing Committee

Fabio Nonino (website)

Fabio Nonino is Full Professor of Business and Project Management (Engineering Management Scientific Sector) at the Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering "Antonio Ruberti" (DIAG) of Sapienza University of Rome.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Association of Management Engineering. From 2014 to 2020 he was President of the Monitoring Committee of the Faculty of Information Engineering, Informatics and Statistics at Sapienza University. Since 2021 he has been a member of the Sapienza Technical-Scientific Committee on Sustainability.

He is Director of Advanced Training Course in Project, Portfolio and Program Management and Agile Project Management organized by Sapienza also in collaboration with the Project Management Institute. He has numerous experiences as a scientific coordinator and member of scientific committees of Academic and Executive Masters. He is a member of the Faculty of the CUOA Business School and the Higher Police School. He has collaborated with various public institutions and companies, including Epasa-Itaco, General Command of the Harbor Offices, the Ministry of Agricultural, Food, Forestry and Tourism Policies, ItalFerr, Aprilia Piaggio Group, Febal, Finmeccanica, illycaffè, Permasteelisa Group, Italian post.

He was principal investigator of the Sapienza operational unit within the European Collective projects of FP7 and PMBoG (Erasmus+) and participated as a researcher (investigator) in numerous European and national research projects financed by public and private.

He is a founding member of an academic spin-off active since 2008 in the management training market using business games. Since 2011 he has been a member of the operational nucleus of the Committee for the development of Scientific and Technological Culture established by the Ministry of Education, University and Research.

He carries out his research activity in the field of Management Engineering, focusing on areas such as Operations and Service Management, Innovation and Project Management and Organizational Behavior and Development. He is the author of over 140 publications, mainly internationally distributed, of the books “Additive Manufacturing – Enhancing Business Value” (Springer) and “The Road to Servitization - How Product Service Systems Can Disrupt Companies' Business Models” (Springer) and of the book “La Il Sole 24 Ore Guide to Project Management”.

Luca Fraccascia (website)

Luca Fraccascia is a Senior Assistant Professor at Sapienza University of Rome and guest researcher at University of Twente (The Netherlands). In 2019, he received the Italian scientific qualification as Associate Professor from the Ministry of Education, University, and Research. His main research interests concern circular economy, industrial symbiosis, business models, agent-based models, and economic complexity.

Luca holds a PhD in Mechanical and Management Engineering at Politecnico di Bari (Italy). He has published in leading international journals such as Ecological Economics, International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Production Research, Applied Energy, Business Strategy and the Environment. He is Editor of Resources, Conservation and Recycling Advances and acts as guest editor, editorial board member, and referee for several international scientific journals.

Mirko Giagnorio (website)

Mirko Giagnorio is Assistant Professor of Management Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome - Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering "Antonio Ruberti" (DIAG). He obtained his PhD at the same university, defending a thesis entitled “The ecological r-evolution of public transport: a strategic and economic analysis with policy recommendations”, which was awarded for the Best Doctoral Thesis Award 2023 by the Italian Society of Transport Economics and Logistics (SIET). 

His main research topics include transport cost-benefit analysis, appraisal and sustainability, transport policy and pricing, transport electrification and zero-emission buses. He is interested in public services with a focus on the economic, environmental and social sustainability of network industries. Research results have been presented annually in national and international conferences, and published in international journals such as Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews and Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment.

He has worked in several research projects funded by grants from firms and institutions such as, among others, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructures, ANAV-National Association for Road Transport and Travelers, ISFORT-Research and Education Transport Institute, Lazio Region, and Metropolitan City of Rome. He spent months of visiting research periods at Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI-Stockholm) in 2022 and at Cornell Tech (New York City) in 2023.

He teaches Economics and Management of Public Administrations (Master's Degree in Management Engineering) and Business Economics and Organization (Bachelor’s degree in Management Engineering) at Sapienza University of Rome.