Karlshochschule International University – English

Karlshochschule International University is one of the participants in a new project called “Teacher training to improve attractiveness and quality of management education through the simulation tool ‘Emerald Forest’ (MST-EF)”. The two-year project (10/2010 – 9/2012) is coordinated by our partner institution Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences in Valmiera, Latvia, and involves a consortium of partners located in seven countries.

MST-EF is a virtual, internet-based simulation developed at NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences and modelling a holiday park called ‘Emerald Forest’. Users have to hire and manage staff, invest money in renovations, do the advertising and marketing, and run the park, including day-to-day activities, such as payments and dealing with accidents or other incidents that may happen during someone’s holiday. In the first project phase, teachers from the participating institutions will be trained to use the simulation tool and to develop new cases and assignments. In the implementation phase, scheduled for the academic year 2011/2012, the partners will apply MST-EF in teaching and training contexts with teachers and student groups from different disciplines, and different teams will compete against each other in the virtual setting, strengthening the participants’ entrepreneurial and intercultural skills. A central internet platform will store the content, results, pictures, videos, discussions etc. of the game.

“I have just come back from a series of guest lectures in Valmiera and am very excited about participating in this innovative project”, says Prof. Stefan Luppold, the academic MST-EF project coordinator on behalf of Karlshochschule.

The project is supported under the Leonardo da Vinci - Transfer of Innovation programme. The Leonardo da Vinci programme, which is part of the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme, supports practical projects in the field of vocational education and training, with the programme line “Transfer of Information” subsidizing multilateral projects that transfer innovative educational content into new settings.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
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