Josef-Florian Micallef

What did you do?

Josef took part in a placement in Leicester in the UK for the organisation Future we Want. He used his expertise in game design to come up with ideas to create a table-top version of a game that raises awareness about climate change and sustainability. The game, called ‘How bad are bananas?’ had been previously created by his hosts who wanted to develop a new version for a broader audience. The game is designed to appeal to a wide audience, including children, students, businesses and individuals, and considers issues such as food, travel, waste, water and carbon emissions.

The Pioneers into Practice workshops provided Josef with key tools such as the empathy map which he applied in the game design process when trying to understand the general experiences players would look for in a game. It was important to help design a game that was fun to engage with, as well as one which was able to communicate important messages. Josef also used the stakeholder mapping tools to understand who else could support the development of the game with similar objectives.

Josef’s work was very important for the hosts as he brought considerable experience in game design and also helped developed the website to promote the hosts and their work.

Josef was so impressed by his placement experience that Greenroads Malta also hosted three international Pioneers. The Pioneers brought a range of different experiences and insights into Greenroads Malta and showed links between mobility issues across Europe.

After eight years as a lecturer, the Pioneers experience reinforced the value of the skills I have, as well as increasing my skills and confidence.

The people I met on the Pioneers programme gave me a new way of looking at sustainability issues.

What did you learn?

The placement experience was new for Josef as this combined sustainability and game design together for him. Josef particularly enjoyed the intensity of the experience despite it lasting a short time. He felt this was a great opportunity to get out of his comfort zone, apply his own business skills, get new perspectives and share his experiences with a group of like-minded individuals during his placement. He found the team he was working in at Leicester to be very inspiring, and they offered him fresh insights he could take back home with him and apply in his own business.What happens next?

What happens next?

Josef’s experience on the Pioneers programme helped him understand how to develop Greenroads Malta beyond the co-founders’ original expectations of an app-based start-up into a sustainably mobility consultancy. He has been able to see best practice and innovation as both a Pioneer and a host and has been able to share this with the co-founders and integrate into their strategy.

Josef has maintained links with Future we Want and has been invited by them to a UK conference about serious play in 2019. The connection with Future we Want has also been made with MCAST and Josef’s students now collaborate on game designs connected to sustainability issues.

Josef will continue to work with the large network he created during his Pioneers experience and says that meeting such a varied group of people broadened his vision for the future.