Role-play Simulation at Monash

This paper describes the development of a type of ‘executive game’ the purpose of which is to give students of civil engineering some impression of the wider context of the design of a building project in which the client, architect, contractor, regulatory authorities, and community interest groups may all play a part. The students are divided into groups of six, with a ‘co-ordinator’ whose role is to provide impetus, resolve deadlocks, and give advice as needed. In a conventional structural design course, good results have been obtained by preparing students for the game with 3 hours of lectures and a set of notes regarding their roles. The use of practising engineers as coordinators has been found to be extremely valuable.