Project Lead: Soheil Devari, School of Management

This project endeavours to explore and understand the effectiveness of role plays for student assessment and how they could help them achieve learning goals and get ready for the workplace. To do so, a comprehensive literature review will be complemented by results of a round of interviews with students who have had role plays as part of their assessment in at least one unit during their studies.

Role plays fill a gap between academic learning and actual business situations by simulating real-world scenarios and allowing students to apply their knowledge in a practical context. Furthermore, role plays call for additional skills such as effective communication, negotiation, articulation of ideas and active listening among others which are essential skills in the workplace. Moreover, role plays introduce an element of pressure which help students learn how to make decisions quickly and remain confident. In addition, it enables lecturers to assess student’s behavioural competencies and how they apply knowledge on a complex business problem under pressure. Although role plays are extensively used in schools such as Harvard, Oxford, Stanford and Cambridge, to the best of my knowledge, no other academic member in School of Management ad possible university uses role plays as part of their assessment in postgraduate levels.

Project outcomes due Autumn 2025.