Do you find yourself looking at the clock in lectures wondering when on Earth you’re going to get out? It’s time to flip that norm on its head because soon enough you’ll be looking to the clock wishing you had more time to solve the puzzle before you!

Escape rooms are immersive, themed experiences which see teams solving a variety of puzzles to ‘escape’ or solve a scenario. Over the last few years there has been a worldwide growth in educational escape rooms, and many educators are adapting what was originally a recreational concept to fit the needs of their students. Escape rooms exist in both physical and digital environments and have proven to harmonise technology and critical thinking inside the classroom setting.

We are excited to present and advertise an opportunity which Imperial College Union have developed in collaboration with members of the Imperial Horizons programme. The experience is the first of its kind in that you as students will work in teams to be in charge of designing an escape room puzzle.

These unique experiences have an array of benefits for participants:

1. They elevate your engagement in a learning environment as you engage in what is ultimately a game
2. They develop social skills through the collaborative elements of the exercise as you work with your team to solve and decode a series of puzzles
3. This specific opportunity poses a new dimension as you are requried to tap into the creativity of your team with the view of designing an escape room for others to complete.      

Would you like to try your hand at designing an educational escape room? We’re offering 25 students the opportunity to attend a workshop on 17th and 18th July 2017 on designing an escape room. We’ll put you into teams and skill you up!

The workshop will take place at South Kensington campus on 17th July and at the White City campus on 18th July where you’ll visit the Advanced Hackspace and find out how you can use it to build puzzles. On the afternoon of the 18th, your team must present a concept and design for an escape room experience. If your proposal is good enough you will be assigned a mentor and receive some modest funding to develop your experience for a showcaseon 4th October. There may be opportunities to run your game at future events like festivals or as part of Imperial’s outreach programme.

Who can apply?

Individual undergraduate students, currently registered at Imperial, and not in their final year of study. Individual postgraduate students (Masters and PhD students) are also eligible to apply. 

Before you apply:

• You must commit to attending on both 17th and 18th July, and be available on 4th October if your team goes through to the development phase
• You should also have sufficient time available over the summer (estimated at least 2 days) to work with your team to produce your escape room experience
• If the workshop is oversubscribed, there will be a shortlist drawn up based on the strengths of your application and to ensure a diverse balance of participants, then places will be allocated so at random.

Applications close on 26th June 2017. Applicants will be notified about whether they have been offered a place by 3rd July.

If you're interested in the opportunity, please sign up by filling out the following survey:

https://imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5tJAuW4hIkwWMM5

If you have any questions then please contact giskin.day@imperial.ac.uk