Good academic leadership and how we interact with each other are the types of questions the new card game mmmAcademia aims to address. ‘Without a healthy culture of communication, nothing will ever change,’ says game designer and university lecturer Frank Léoné.

Burnouts, temporary contracts, and hierarchical relationships are just a few of the topics discussed in mmmAcademia, a new card game designed to spark debate about Recognition and Rewards at Radboud University.

The idea for the game arose when Frank Léoné was still a theme leader at the Radboud Teaching & Learning Centre, says the Assistant Professor of Artificial Intelligence. ‘In the Recognition and Rewards committee, there were more professors and associate professors than lecturers and PhD candidates,’ he says. ‘As a result, many sensitive topics, such as leadership failures, were not addressed. Additionally, there was little thought given to how we could stimulate discussions on these issues in the workplace.’

Léoné had previously designed simple card games for use in his own classes, he mentions. He worked on mmmAcademia mainly in his free time and research time. He received feedback from colleagues inside and outside the university, as well as from a professional game developer.

Boat Trip

The card game mmmAcademia, a wordplay on the tough-to-crack macadamia nuts, is designed for two to five players. The game is in English, though Léoné does not rule out a Dutch version in the future. The cards feature 55 statements relating to the various aspects of Recognition and Rewards.

The Assistant Professor provides an example: ‘On one of the cards, a supervisor compares a PhD journey to a boat trip,’ he says. ‘According to the supervisor, we are all in the same boat, and the PhD candidate is at the helm.’ Players are then asked how they experience PhD journeys and what metaphor they would use to describe them.

‘You could easily spend an hour discussing this card with your colleagues,’ Léoné says. ‘When we discussed it in our research group, I was surprised at how individualistic and competitive the metaphors could be. One person saw a PhD journey as an individual boat race, with the supervisor shouting through a megaphone from the sidelines. Another saw it as a combat sport, where you are constantly knocked to the ground by your supervisor. By also talking about the ideal metaphor, you gain valuable insights into each other’s expectations and dreams.’

Some players told Léoné that they found certain statements confrontational or negative. ‘One person even said that the game gives universities a bad name,’ he says. ‘But in my opinion, we already have that reputation. I know a colleague who worked at the university his whole life and now advises young people against going into academia. I think it’s crucial to discuss these sensitive topics; that’s where the pain is, and experiencing and discussing it together can hopefully contribute to change.’

Interpersonal Contact

Starting the conversation is one thing, but can mmmAcademia actually change failing leadership or high workloads? ‘I hope so,’ Léoné says. ‘Universities, especially ours, are highly hierarchical. As long as professors have the freedom to do whatever they want, nothing will change. We need to address each other on themes of Recognition & Rewards. That’s what this game aims to contribute to.’

“Turning the ship around is not easy, but it’s definitely necessary”

It also doesn’t help, he says, that for many employees, Recognition & Rewards is not really a priority. After all, they receive appreciation and rewards elsewhere: by securing grants and publishing papers. ‘But the urgency is increasing, especially now that other universities are clearly doing better. Just recently, an acclaimed lecturer who felt unappreciated here left for Wageningen. Turning the ship around is not easy, but it’s absolutely necessary.’

500 mmmAcademia games are currently being distributed across Radboud University. For more information about the game and to request sets, you can follow this link. There’s also a tutorial video on how to play the game.

Translated by Siri Joustra