Grant deadline: An escape room to simulate grant submissions

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy education
• Gamification in higher education
• Grant writing training

Background:

• Traditional lectures failed to convey the complexity of grant submissions to graduate trainees.
• Gamification principles were applied to create an educational escape room to boost engagement.
• Serious games enhance problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fill a gap in educational training methods by utilizing escape rooms.
• To simulate the grant submission process for pharmacy trainees.
• To familiarize students with internal processes and resources for grant applications.

Main Methods:

• An escape room game was designed to mimic grant submission tasks.
• Participants engaged in activities like finding opportunities, correcting errors, and collaborating.
• Student perceptions were gathered through interviews and thematic analysis.

Main Results:

• Key participant emotions included excitement (63%), fun (50%), stress (38%), and frustration (25%).
• A majority preferred the escape room (63%) and found it effective for learning (63%).
• Some suggested improvements, like adding a didactic component (13%).

Conclusions:

• The escape room effectively introduced graduate students to the grant submission process.
• Gamified learning environments can enhance engagement in complex training.
• This method offers a novel approach to professional development in scientific fields.