Innovative Gaming Meets Sustainability: Cranfield School’s “Game of Life” Wins Prestigious FT Teaching Award

In a significant recognition of innovative educational approaches, Cranfield School of Management has been awarded the Financial Times Responsible Business Education Award for its groundbreaking role-playing game, “Game of Life,” which envisions sustainable futures for Europe by 2050. The game, which has engaged over 2,500 participants since its 2018 launch, has been lauded for its unique approach to teaching sustainability and business responsibility.

The game stands out for its ability to foster psychological traits and competencies aligned with agency characteristics, including intentionality and self-regulation, as revealed through early participant interviews. Associate Professor Rosina Watson of Cranfield emphasizes that this educational method goes beyond traditional knowledge transfer, providing students with a safe environment to exercise their agency in contributing to sustainable transitions.

What makes the “Game of Life” particularly effective is its foundation in four key principles: ecosystem convening, shifting time horizons, making ‘business as usual’ untenable, and liberating players from preconceived notions and roles. This approach has garnered praise from industry experts, including Megan Kashner, a judge and director at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, who commends the game’s incorporation of systems thinking, empathy development, and gamified simulation.

The award comes at a time when business schools worldwide are transforming their educational methods to prepare future leaders for an increasingly complex and sustainability-focused business environment. This year’s awards highlight how educational institutions are innovating their curricula by incorporating sustainability, practical experiences, and cutting-edge technologies to address global challenges.

The success of Cranfield’s initiative reflects a broader trend in business education, where traditional teaching methods are being supplemented or replaced by more engaging, experiential learning approaches1. The game’s effectiveness in developing change agents has led to calls for wider adoption of similar educational models across business schools globally.