The Kick-Off meeting for the Erasmus+ project ROCKET (Role-Playing Games on Conflict Transformation for Equity in Higher Education through Virtual Exchange) took place in Göttingen from 19-21 February 2024. Twelve members of the European consortium from the universities of Göttingen, Groningen, and Uppsala came together for three exciting days to get the project off the ground.
The first day provided an opportunity for the consortium to discuss management aspects as well as upcoming outreach events. In line with the project’s focus on DEI, the team also deliberated how ROCKET can be as inclusive as possible thoughout all project stages. On the second day, basic concepts of the project were presented in detail, allowing consortium members to learn from one another. Accordingly, the interactive workshops included inputs on: Role-playing Games; Conflict Transformation; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI); Critical Virtual Exchange; and Intercultural Communication. In the afternoon, the project team put Role-playing Games and Conflict Transformation Strategies to the test, learning both how to facilitate and how to participate in such scenarios. The third day began with planning ROCKET’s first pilot, which will be gearded towards students as a first of three target groups. Subsequently, the project’s IT concept was discussed, which concerns the website, the Sharepoint, Open Educational Resources and the Learning Environment. In the afternoon, the IT task force met and laid the foundations for this very website, which we are happy to present.