Target audience
University lecturers, higher education teachers, academic tutors, student mentors, educational psychologists, student support services, employability officers, educational innovation coordinators, project managers and professionals working with university students or young adults in higher education contexts.
This course is especially suitable for higher education professionals interested in implementing structured, face-to-face and non-digital activities to develop students’ soft skills, teamwork, social interaction, psychological resources and sense of belonging.
The course is based on Ludo Skills, a modern board game-based intervention originally designed as an educational innovation programme to develop soft skills in university students through structured gameplay, facilitation and reflection. The programme has generated scientific evidence showing positive effects on social skills, attitudes toward teamwork, teamwork competence, life satisfaction and psychological capital.
Duration
Objectives
1. Understand the current challenges of higher education, including the need to develop soft skills, social interaction, teamwork, well-being and face-to-face learning opportunities in an increasingly digitalised university context.
2. Identify the educational potential of modern board games for developing communication, cooperation, empathy, decision-making, critical reflection, emotional regulation, resilience and teamwork-related competencies.
3. Experience different types of modern board games used in the Ludo Skills programme, including collaborative, cooperative, hidden-role and murder mystery games, analysing the skills and psychological processes activated by each format.
4. Learn how to facilitate board game-based sessions in higher education, including game selection, group organisation, rule explanation, observation of group dynamics, management of leadership effects, inclusion strategies and structured debriefing.
5. Reflect on the scientific evidence and implementation conditions required to replicate or adapt a Ludo Skills-inspired programme in different higher education contexts, considering feasibility, evaluation, sustainability and institutional integration.
Methodology
The course follows an eminently practical, active and experiential methodology. Participants learn by playing, observing, analysing, reflecting and discussing how modern board games can be used as structured educational tools in higher education.
Each session combines brief theoretical inputs with practical gameplay, guided observation, group discussion and structured debriefing. Participants experience different types of games and analyse how each format can contribute to the development of specific soft skills, social behaviours and psychological resources.
The training is inspired by the structure of the Ludo Skills programme, a 12-week intervention based on facilitator-led modern board game sessions, guided reflection and game-design activities. In the original programme, students participated in collaborative, cooperative, hidden-role and murder mystery games, with each session connected to skills such as communication, perspective-taking, coordination, creativity, emotional regulation, decision-making and critical reflection.
A strong emphasis is placed on facilitation. Participants will learn how to select games according to educational objectives, explain rules efficiently, create a safe and inclusive environment, observe interaction patterns, manage dominant players, promote participation and lead debriefing sessions that connect gameplay with real academic, professional and personal situations.
The final part of the course focuses on implementation. Participants will review the scientific evidence generated by Ludo Skills, discuss practical conditions for replication, and receive guidance on how to adapt the programme to their own university, degree, student support service, employability programme or educational innovation initiative.
As part of the cultural and social dimension of the training, participants will also enjoy a guided visit around Valladolid and, on one of the afternoons, a tapas experience to discover the city’s local gastronomy in an informal and friendly atmosphere.
Contents
– Higher education in the digital age: current challenges faced by university students, including reduced face-to-face interaction, need for transversal competencies, employability demands, emotional well-being, belongingness and the role of universities in developing soft skills.
– Soft skills and psychological resources in university students: communication, teamwork, cooperation, empathy, decision-making, emotional regulation, critical reflection, resilience, self-efficacy, life satisfaction and psychological capital.
– Introduction to modern board games for educational purposes: differences between traditional and modern board games, collaborative games, cooperative games, hidden-role games, murder mystery games, narrative games and game-design activities.
– Practical experience with Ludo Skills game formats: hands-on sessions with different types of games to analyse how gameplay activates interaction, negotiation, shared decision-making, trust, social inference, problem-solving, leadership, inclusion and group regulation.
– Facilitation of board game-based learning sessions: how to organise groups, introduce games, explain rules, manage time, observe behaviours, prevent dominant-player effects, support quieter participants and adapt activities to different student profiles.
– Debriefing and transfer to real contexts: strategies to guide post-game reflection, connect the game experience with academic and professional skills, promote metacognition and help students identify what they have learned through play.
– Evidence from the Ludo Skills programme: overview of the intervention design, outcome measures and main findings related to social skills, teamwork, life satisfaction and psychological capital.
– Implementation tips for higher education institutions: how to adapt the programme to tutorial action plans, employability services, student well-being initiatives, educational innovation projects, extracurricular activities or Erasmus+ contexts.
Participants
Language
Dates and Course Venue
Dates and schedule can be adapted to the needs of the sending institution or group.
The course can be delivered in Valladolid, Spain, or in other formats agreed with the organising institution.
Cost
Info and registration
For further information, please write to: info@ludusmagnus.es
To register: https://forms.gle/bcBWHpw9jBwCFnk56
Trainers
Azael Herrero is a Full Professor at the Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes, UEMC, and holds a PhD in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences from the University of León, with European Mention and Extraordinary Doctorate Award. In addition to his teaching work, he has held university management positions, including Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Vice-Rector for Academic Organisation and Faculty Affairs, and has a consolidated research career.
In the field of education, he stands out for his specialisation in gamification, board game-based learning, serious games and active methodologies, with more than 15 years of experience applying modern board games for educational purposes and gamifying his university teaching since 2017.
He is the founder of Ludus Magnus – European Institute for Modern Board Games – and leads training and educational innovation initiatives linked to local and European projects such as Erasmus+. He is also the creator and main facilitator of the Ludo Skills programme, a university intervention designed to develop soft skills, teamwork, social interaction and psychological resources through modern board games.
In this course, his role focuses on presenting the Ludo Skills model, facilitating practical game-based sessions, explaining how to structure board game interventions in higher education, and helping participants understand how to adapt the programme to different institutional contexts.
Miriam Herrero-Martín is an Educational Psychologist and Psychopedagogue, and she also trained as an Early Childhood Teacher. She holds postgraduate qualifications in Social Psychology and Sexology, and has eight years of professional experience as a school counsellor, supporting students, families and teaching teams in relation to learning, wellbeing, emotional development and educational guidance.
She is currently completing a PhD at the University of Valladolid focused on the use of board games in Primary Education. Her work is strongly connected to active methodologies, educational innovation, psychological assessment and the use of modern board games and practical activities to enhance motivation, learning and socio-emotional development.
Miriam has contributed to more than ten educational innovation initiatives and Erasmus-related projects. She is also part of the research team involved in the scientific development and evaluation of Ludo Skills, bringing a psychological and pedagogical perspective to the analysis of soft skills, social interaction, well-being and student development.
In this course, her expertise is especially relevant for connecting board game-based learning with psychological processes, student support, group dynamics, socio-emotional development and evidence-based educational practice.