Digital Sim Ex in Humanitarian Education

The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the uncertainty and challenges it brought to the higher education sector was tackled head on at Charles Darwin University. Two researchers in the field of humanitarian and disaster management have successfully delivered training to over 150 students using digital simulation exercises. These exercises draw upon real world events and are designed to reflect complex requirements in adult education today delivering excellent results in student experience and learnings. The results range from not only knowledge acquired, but development of skills in remote working that allowed students to continue their education during COVID-19. The objective was not to simply continue to service students, but rather, too reimagine and redesign from the ground up, including pedagogical understanding and standards in humanitarian education, a course that put learners and technology at the forefront. The application of serious games design, scenario based learning, and leveraging immersive and common place digital technologies sets another precedent in the effectiveness and importance of simulation exercises and war-games today. The game creation process was standardised, and 3 games delivered with a fourth planned. The game design was entered upon real world practices needed to impart to students how to be effective remote workers in the humanitarian field, and drew inspiration from various fields ranging from health, defence, future studies, wargaming and the field of humanitarian action itself. The aim of this paper is to share the experiences and journey in the creation of these games, lessons learned and areas to explore.