Coventry University-led project developing learning resources and spaces across the globe recognised at QS Reimagine Education Awards
The Play Lab Bus is one of the initiatives that forms part of the ACES Project
Thursday 11 January 2024
Press contact
A Coventry University research project developing playful, inclusive and sustainable learning resources and spaces to support teaching across the globe has been recognised at the prestigious QS Reimagine Education Awards.
The project, entitled A Community-Centred Educational Model for Developing Social Resilience through Play (ACES), has been spearheaded by Professor in Games Science, Sylvester Arnab, who has worked with education providers in Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia to co-create a range of resources to meet local educational needs.
These include using everyday materials for learning STEM (Science, technology, engineering and maths) in a playful way and games-based learning resources, such as analogue board games.
The ACES Project is also concerned with providing educational spaces, and projects have included repurposing a dilapidated bus for STEM learning in Malaysia, creating an eco-friendly playground for outdoor teaching in Vietnam and providing a playful corner equipped with learning resources at a community library in Indonesia.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak in Malaysia, Universitas Negeri Malang and Universitas Muhammadiyah Ponorogo in Indonesia and the Hanoi University of Science and Technology in Vietnam have all been involved in the project, with 5,300 teachers and 2,250 students taking part.
In recognition of its success, the ACES Project was recently awarded a prestigious Bronze Award in the Sustainability category at the QS Reimagine Education Awards.
We are thrilled to be honoured with the Bronze prize for the ACES project, a pioneering initiative that employs a community-centred educational model to cultivate social resilience through play, inclusive and sustainable design.
We extend our sincere gratitude to our co-investigators, collaborators and colleagues in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam for their ongoing impact within their communities. This recognition underscores the collective efforts that have made a meaningful difference in the regions we serve.
Professor Sylvester Arnab, from Coventry University’s Research Centre for Postdigital Cultures
The QS Reimagine Awards describe themselves as the ‘Oscars of Education’ and in 2023 celebrated a decade of rewarding innovative approaches that enhance student learning outcomes and employability.
The awards were incredibly competitive with more than 1,200 submissions across 17 categories, with a team of more than 900 international judges and a Grand Jury of 55 global experts deciding the winners.
The support of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), which funded the ACES Project under the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), is gratefully acknowledged.
Find out more about the ACES Project and the QS Reimagine Education Awards.
