Realising the potential of EU simulations – practical guidance for beginners

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Palgrave Macmillan via the DOI in this record.This contribution seeks to encourage colleagues in higher education to embrace simulations as a valuable means of active learning, greater retention and higher student and teacher satisfaction. In sum, the benefits of simulations easily outweigh potential weaknesses, and most of the weaknesses can be addressed by a careful preparation. However, there is hardly any literature which gives very concrete guidance as to how to set up a simulation, and reflects on implications that set-up choices can have. This article seeks to fill that gap. It starts by briefly reviewing the theoretical advantages of simulations before it engages in a thorough review of two EU Council simulations that the author has organised. The aim is to openly review things that worked well and things that did not so as to allow colleagues interested in engaging in simulations in the future to see the reasons behind certain choices and perhaps avoid weaknesses of simulations set up by 'beginners'. Academic texts are too often presented as success stories, hiding errors or adaptations in the process whereas in fact much can be learned from publicly exposing and reflecting upon shortcomings and weaknesses of research and teaching design and processes