We learn best through authentic experiences.
This is exactly what happened in the AgriBizQuest 2018 at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos in Bacolod City.
AGRIBIZQUEST (ABQ) is a game which simulates the life of a UNO-R Agribusiness Student. This is situated at the UNO-R AGRIPRENEURSHIP INNOVATION HUB, a fictional facility that is the learning lab of the UNO-R Agribusiness students where they attend classes, conduct experiments, design prototypes, and simulate market conditions. The Innovation Hub is built for experiential and immersive education where students become industry-immersed, job-ready, technologically competent, and knowledgeable in agri-entrepreneurship.
High school students from all over Negros had a chance to play AGRIBIZQUEST during the 1st UNO-R AgriBusiness Summit. The game serves as an education and marketing tool for prospective students to:
experience what it is like to become an Agripreneur Student at UNO-R;
appreciate agripreneurship as a course and as a career, and;
realize the potential of agripreneurship in Philippine development.
Forming groups of 10, players explored the Innovation hub and searched for “QR codes” which served as instructions for tasks they needed to finish along this quest. Each task earned them a token. Each time a task is finished, they had their works checked by UNO-R student-actors. The objective is to collect 30 tokens for a chance to get a key that opens a secret room called the “Mainframe.” The main goal is to access the Mainframe, where they solve a puzzle and make sense of the entire gamified experience. Special prizes were given to the winners.
Here’s a rundown of the game zones, and a brief description of the challenges the students experienced in the game.
The game is a resounding success so much so that students were asking for another round! They were highly engaged in the process, and their creativity and strategy really came to the fore. In the end, they joyfully declared that they look forward to the next AgriBizQuest!
-ktdjs