Milan Digital Week: SAE Institute hosts the #PlaySeriously Hackathon

On the occasion of the Milano Digital WeekSAE Institute announcedHackathon #PlaySeriously. It is an unprecedented event in the field of training, both for its international scope and for the goal of great social interest: build collaboratively a video game that allows the screening of predictors of learning disabilities (DSA) in preschool childrenstimulating them through a fun tool.

The #PlaySeriously Hackathon in honor of Milano Digital Week

In our country the Add n. 170/2010 recognized i Specific Learning Disorders, including dyslexia, dysorthography, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. In agreement with the pupils’ families it is therefore foreseen that it is the task of the schools activate the most suitable interventions to identify suspicious cases.

The Ministry gave a figure of 3.2% of the total school population with SLD in 2020, number tripled in ten years. In English-speaking countries, the percentage rises to 17% and involves more the male sex.

#PlaySeriously will take place on Saturday 12 November 2022 in mode phygital: they are online Discordoffline at the headquarters of the SAE Institute of Milan from 9:00 to 18:00. Students, alumni and young professionals who are competent in the following areas can participate in the event:

• Game design;
• Game art;
• Psychology;
• Philosophy;
• Pedagogy;
• Programming.

According to the number of participants they will be set up the work teams. Furthermore, when registering, it is possible to indicate the name of two possible team mates. The SAE Institute Milan Campus Manager, Francesco De Giorgiohe has declared:

“SAE Institute has decided to invest in research in the areas related to the advanced training courses provided. The will is to obtain operational implications, as can be the result of this Hackathon. The management of SAE Milano immediately supported this project which saw first and foremost the involvement of our students. We immediately grasped the potential of this call, of which we are the leader. #PlaySeriously is just the beginning of a path that increasingly sees the Academies in their key role of intermediation between industry and research “.

Alessandra MicalizziLecturer and researcher at SAE Institute, coordinator of the scientific committee of the project, said instead:

“In common sense the game, in general, the video game, more specifically, carries with it the wrong legacy of being considered pure entertainment. Instead, the game, both analog and digital, constitutes a space for building relationships in a protected way and according to pre-established rules. This makes it the ideal place for meeting, even when psychoeducational in nature: a safe space in which to experiment and experiment, knowing and overcoming one’s limits. Hence the idea of ​​looking more closely at the world of applied games, or games with educational purposes, proposing a project, #PlaySeriously, which can push our students to explore other areas of the videogame world and bring SAE Institute to the center of international academic networks “.

Awards and jury

#PlaySeriously has the patronage of IRELAND, association of psychologists that deals with dyslexia. Some of them will take part in the event as a mentor. They are also external sponsors of #PlaySeriously: Play-Ability and Hogrefe.

Play-Ability will participate with some members of its team by offering know-how in the psychology-game union while Hogrefe will make available parts of a test used just for screening.

In the jury we will find:

• Petar Mavrodiev (SAE Institute);
• Fabio Viola;
• Prof. Mariarosaria Nardone (University of Bologna).

The winner will receive € 1500 + Higher Edukit Premium; The second one € 1000 + Higher Edukit Basic; the third € 500 + Higher Edukit Basic. The projects will then be available for any developments. For more information and to register, you can consult the official website.