The Summer School is a development programme organised by AUDE annually for aspiring future senior leaders in Estates. The winning project was entitled 'The Voice of the Customer' and explored the use of Gamification as a tool to improve, encourage and motivate communication between the Estates department, the users and beneficiaries of works and projects. The need for open communication and continuous user feedback, from project inception to its implementation and beyond, is of paramount importance in the Estates sector.
Given the widespread use of technology and its ever-growing availability and importance, the project proposes the use of an app that can allow for participation and feedback throughout the project from students, staff and other stakeholders. The app would allow for points being awarded based on participation and feedback, and a competitive leaderboard and badge system handing out rewards to the top-rated user/s as incentives. The other winning team members came from universities around the UK, namely Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds and York, as well as from South Africa.
This project was a perfect example of collaboration with fellow departments in the sector from across the world, and enhances the high value of enriching our practices through learning and working with our peers, both at home and abroad.
