Now live: MBO Stad

Hop on the MBO Stad tram to learn more about the MBO (senior secondary vocational education) work field in a playful manner. An enthusiastic serious game where secondary school students can orient themselves to the MBO.

MBO Stad

Commissioned by the Samenwerkingsorganisatie Beroepsonderwijs Bedrijfsleven (SBB), the VO-raad (Association of Dutch Universities) and the MBO Raad (MBO Council), we built MBO Stad, a serious game within the 'KiesMBO' website.

YoungWorks research has shown that knowledge of the MBO professions among MBO students is limited, which is why we wanted to make it easier for MBO students to prepare for their new study. Often these students know a few stereotypical MBO professions such as cook, doctor and hairdresser, but have no idea what else is possible with an MBO diploma. This prompted SBB (Samenwerkingsorganisatie Beroepsonderwijs Bedrijfsleven) and the MBO Council to develop a game as a module within the study portal KiesMBO.nl.

Within MBO Stad, students from VMBO and MBO are enabled (in groups) to find a suitable course of study. The players drive the streetcar and within the streetcar they can enter into conversations with the residents of MBO Stad. This results in a question interview in which the player has to guess which profession the resident has. If the player gives the correct answer, they can drop the resident off at the resident's work location. Each time a resident is dropped off at the work location, the work location is upgraded. By talking to residents and dropping residents off at work locations, players can upgrade buildings and learn more about different professions.

UX test to optimize user experience

Youngworks conducted a user acceptance test of the beta version of the game. MBO City received positive feedback:

"I like drawing and painting, but I didn't know that later on you can also do something with colors as a profession of color consultant." (girl, 13 years old)

"What I like most is driving the streetcar, going around the city and picking up and dropping off dolls. The dolls are a bit 'cartoony', just like in the Sims, which is fun." (girl, 14 years old)

Would you like to know more about the professions in the mbo? Then discover MBO Stad.