Become a virtual Groninger – play the game
Edited on
12 October 2020Partner city Groningen introduces online introduction game for international students
Our partner cities all aim to attract international students and expats to their cities. In times of the COVID-19 crisis, this may be even a more challenging task: international students are more uncertain about their studies abroad and if it is wise to go live in another country. Groningen therefore has developed a new online game: ‘Become a virtual Groninger’ to attract and introduce internationals to their future home.
“Excited to start your studies in the greatest student city in The Netherlands? Kick-start your student life by exploring Groningen virtually. In this game, you can already experience what it is like to be a student in Groningen. Discover the streets of the city centre, see how students in Groningen live, explore the Zernike campus and enjoy Groningen’s vibrant nightlife. You will even learn some typical Groningen words, recipes and facts on the way. Before you know it you’ll feel right at home and you might find yourself showing Groningers around in their own city.”
This 360-degree game promotes the city as a welcoming place for international students and to introduce them to the city, culture, university, student life and living in Groningen as an international. The game allows you to walk around the city centre and will take you to different hotspot in the city. It will introduce you to the university buildings and it will teach you about being a Groninger. For example: you are challenged to go into the local supermarket and to buy the ingredients for a local dish. In this way you are in a virtual way introduced to living in the city of Groningen.
You decide yourself how you play, for how long you play and what you learn. Specific places and items can be collected during playing and afterwards you can send this to your self by email, thus creating a personalized ‘Welcome to Groningen’ kit. If you successfully completed all the task, you can call yourself a truly virtual Groninger and you can collect your ‘Groningen passport’ and a survival kit at the tourist information centre. #virtualgroninger.
This game is an initiative of the ‘Akkoord van Groningen’ or ‘Groninger Agreement’, a collaboration between the two universities, university hospital, municipality and the regional government. These organizations aim to make Groningen an attractive city for internationals talents, and to keep the city a welcoming place for internationals to settle. This approach is part of the best-practice in the Welcoming International Talent project.
Based on the meta-deta from the game, the developers are able to see what players find interesting and what information is still missing in the game. New levels will be developed along the way and the first flight will be finished at the end of October. We will keep you updated on the first findings.
Submitted by Evite van Winkoop on