![Een strand met verschillende spellen ](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/header_slider_default/public/2021-07/Banner%20Serious%20Games.png?h=c743d12b&itok=iH56o12B) # Serious Games, Innovation & Society **Professor**: Igor Mayer, PhD **Research topic**: playful organisations and learning systems [Contact ](mailto:Mayer.I@buas.nl) The professorship of Serious Games, Innovation & Society focuses on serious games for professional learning, team performance, organisational change, and the management of complex systems. Research methods include serious game design and engineering, evaluation and impact research, case studies, sector studies and field labs. Application areas - *Tourism, leisure and hospitality:* location-based games, digital tourism, sustainable tourism (Scithos, DigiTourism, [SmartCultour](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/domains/tourism/smartcultour)) - *Spatial planning:* logistics and mobility, urban planning, placemaking, and maritime spatial planning. ([MSP Challenge simulation platform](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/domains/games/msp-challenge), DigiShape) - *Energy transition:* hydrogen economy, offshore wind industry - *Ecosystem and natural resource management:* sustainable tourism, fishery and ecology management (ECOSCOPE) Keys of areas of expertise - *Digital Humans* (Avatars) – highly realistic digital characters for natural interaction in entertainment and learning environments ([VIBE](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/domains/media/project-vibe), EPIC) - *Organisation & Management in a Digital Society:* entrepreneurship, management, strategy, leadership, and change (organizational resilience in the creative industries) - *Digital Twins* for spatial planning support and complex decision-making – data-driven, intelligent, digital replicas of real-world organisations or systems ([MSP Challenge](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/domains/games/msp-challenge), [ILIAD – digital twin of the ocean](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/domains/games/iliad)) The professorship is one of the pillars of the cross-academy R&D programme on Digital Realities and closely linked to the professorships of [Creative and Entertainment Games](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/professorships/creative-and-entertainment-games) and Digital Media Concepts. In the Cradle Lab, state-of-the-art entertainment games, serious games and digital media innovations are designed and developed. We work in national and international R&D consortia on a large portfolio of challenging R&D projects funded by NWO, RAAK-SIA, H2020 and Horizon Europe, EU-Green Deal, Creative Europe, Interreg, and Erasmus+. We are active partners in innovation ecosystems such as [MindLabs](https://www.mind-labs.eu/) and [Digishape](https://www.digishape.nl/). The research team: - Igor Mayer - Harald Warmelink - Jessika Weber Sabil - Carlos Santos - Magali Goncalves - Bram Heijligers CRADLE R&D Lab Research staff and students of AGM / CRADLE have a passion to design, engineer and innovate. This is highly complementary to applied scientific research on the one hand, and business and societal interests on the other. In the CRADLE R&D Lab, the next generation of digital realities is designed and created – the integration of geodata and big data, models, and simulations with artificial intelligence, advanced game technology, V/AR and playful interactions. Photogrammetry Studio The Photogrammetry Studio is one of the few high-quality photogrammetry facilities for facial scanning in the Netherlands, and certainly in the region. ![](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/Igor_Mayer.jpg?h=753a135a&itok=UbHWxNiQ) ### Igor Mayer, PhD **Professor** [Mayer.I](mailto:Mayer.I@buas.nl)[@buas.nl](mailto:klijs.j@buas.nl) [![](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/2021-04/linkedin-icon-sm.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/in/igormayer/?originalSubdomain=nl) ![https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Igor-Mayer-2](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/2021-04/rg-icon-sm.png) ## Featured Projects: Serious Games, Innovation & Society ![Boom aan de kust tijdens een storm ](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/19_7_card_xl/public/header-kust-boom-wind.jpg?h=db814779&itok=XjrMuasm) ### Resilience of creative companies What factors determine to what extent and in what way companies in the digital creative industry continue to grow? [ Read more ](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/professorships/serious-games-innovation-and-society/resilience-creative-companies) ![Een zee met een school vissen](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/19_7_card_xl/public/2021-09/Games%20-%20Ecoscope%20-%20header.jpg?h=a3c0c278&itok=h7dBR6Jq) ### Ecoscope Ecocentric management for sustainable fisheries and healthy marine ecosystems. [ Read more ](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/professorships/serious-games-innovation-and-society/more-sustainable-fisheries) ![Rondvaartboten in een stad](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/19_7_card_xl/public/Tourism%20-%20Tourban%201150x400%20-%20shutterstock_638575639.jpg?h=14d5a25c&itok=BLHKWuaA) ### Tourban Accelerating the capacity and innovation of SMEs for sustainable urban tourism. [ Read more ](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/professorships/serious-games-innovation-and-society/project-tourban) ![Een kaart van Noord Europa met diverse markeringen](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/19_7_card_xl/public/2019-04/MSP%20Challenge.png?h=7b436a88&itok=oJgB3Wzu) ### MSP Challenge Simulation Platform MSP Challenge Simulation Platform as a next generation Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) support for the North Sea, Baltic Sea, Clyde Marine Region and beyond. [ Read more ](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/professorships/serious-games-innovation-and-society/msp-challenge) ![Iemand met een VR-bril](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/19_7_card_xl/public/Closer-Connections-header.jpg?h=7acbc861&itok=yLxZd1Qh) ### DIGIREAL-XL Digital Realities as Key Technology for Socio-Economic Transitions. [ Read more ](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/professorships/serious-games-innovation-and-society/digireal-xl) ![Iemand werkt op een laptop aan het strand](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/19_7_card_xl/public/2022-02/iliad%20header.jpg?h=173fccc4&itok=HdzWMKw1) ### Iliad Game design and technology in Digital Twins of the Ocean, for use in management and planning to achieve sustainability. [ Read more ](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/professorships/serious-games-innovation-and-society/iliad) ![Iemand kijkt door een VR-bril](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/19_7_card_xl/public/Research-project-Closer-Connections.jpg?h=f2482faf&itok=75o1hGAI) ### Closer Connections Connecting the buas digital reality research agenda to European ambitions. Part of the [DIGIREAL XL](https://pure.buas.nl/en/projects/digireal-xl-research-development-and-innovation-center-on-digital) research project . [ Read more ](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/professorships/serious-games-innovation-and-society/closer-connections) ![Digital Realities - Man met VR bril](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/19_7_card_xl/public/2026-02/header%20vr%20bril.jpg?h=e91faa1f&itok=3pU3ydL7) ### Virtual Work This study examined the use and obstacles to adopting Virtual Reality (VR) as a substitute workspace. [ Read more ](https://www.buas.nl/en/research/professorships/serious-games-innovation-and-society/virtual-work)