Our blogs aim to extend the idea of play and how it can be used within higher education to support an academic community that fosters joyous co-creation of knowledge and skills through joy, engagement and play. We will explore a variety of experiences, initiatives and practices of integrating play and playfulness in academic practice.
Playful Lab Spotlight – “Werewolf” and influence tactics
10 November 2022
Dr Cécile Emery, a senior lecturer in Leadership at The University of Exeter Business School, spoke at a recent Playful Lab session, teaching participants about influence...
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Monthly Meeting Recap: May (With Ted DesMaisons)
12 May 2021
For our May Monthly Meeting, we were joined by Ted DesMaisons, the author of Playful Mindfulness. He hosted a session based on his book, titled “Playful Mindfulness for Confidence, Calm, and Connection”,…
Monthly Meeting Recap: April (with Professor Alison James)
28 April 2021
The Playful University Club’s April Monthly Meeting, titled “Are we entering the age of play?”, was hosted by Professor Alison James. As a National Teaching Fellow, Principal Fellow of the UK...
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Play Champions programme: Playful Field Trip
26 June 2021
The Playful Champions were very lucky to be able to take part in a remote field trip, hosted by Jana Wendler (https://www.playfuel.co.uk/) and Amy Strike (https://amystrike.com/). They organised...
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Some favourite festive games
29 December 2022
During the Christmas season and as we approach the new year, board games are often pulled off the shelves as a great source of entertainment, a way to…
Monthly Meeting Recap: March (with Anouska Cekalovic)
31 March 2021
The Playful University Club’s March Monthly Meeting was hosted by life coach Anouska Cekalovic! She works with clients to help them celebrate life and have a joyful attitude, and has been a key...
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Playful Praxis – A Student’s Perspective (Tom Nancarrow)
9 February 2021
Entering my fifth year of higher education, I am in the unfortunate position to have more years as an undergraduate to reflect on than most, yet still have...
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Becoming a Playful Academic: A personal story (Maarten Koeners)
9 February 2021
Throughout my life, I have been exposed to an increasingly stressful and demanding expectation to perform. This expectation has not only been dictated by society in which we...
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Monthly Meeting Recap: February (with Shanissa Meah and Tom Nancarrow)
6 February 2021
Our February meeting was hosted by our very own Playful University Club interns, Shanissa and Tom! Their session was entitled "A reflective evaluation and student experience of playful...
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Monthly Meeting Recap: January (with Pete King)
2 January 2021
The Playful University Club’s January Monthly Meeting was hosted by Dr Pete King, the Programme Director for the MA Developmental and Therapeutic Play course at Swansea University. Pete’s...
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Monthly Meeting Recap: December (with Ian Turner)
29 December 2020
The Playful University Club’s December Monthly Meeting was hosted by Professor Ian Turner of the University of Derby. Ian works across the University, supporting the diverse community with...
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Monthly Meeting Recap: November (with Nelressa Faye)
2 November 2020
In our November meeting, we were fortunate enough to have Nelressa Faye instill her top tips and tricks for using experiential activities for adult learners from her 15...
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