Firstly, what is MicroLaunch Online? For those of you who don’t know, MicroLaunch Online is a game designed by Mike Roe and developed by Totem Learning for those starting out in the market research industry. It provides the perfect entry route to an MRS qualification as the participants take part in six research projects whereby they must keep within a budget whilst being up against the clock. On average, the game takes around an hour to complete and you can play it as many times as you like giving you the chance to improve on your results.  

With this in mind, the game proves to be invaluable to business and management students and we’ve had several business schools try this game out with an overwhelming positive response. The list of users are: Manchester Business School, St Gallen School of Management in Switzerland, Bradford Business School, MSRA in Kenya, Plymouth University and Cranfield School of Management.

We are proud to say that the game has had over 600 participants from all over the world which includes undergraduates, masters students and young researchers with typical comments on the game being the likes of “fantastic”, “enjoyable” and “engaging”. The feedback from staff and programme leaders has also reaffirmed the success and positive impact the game has had on their institution and students. A lecturer at Manchester Business School stated that “all 95 Masters students enjoyed the session as much as I did”. Helen Oldfield (from MRS) called the game “a resounding success” which is amazing for us to hear. Our aim is to make learning something people actively want to do and we believe games can be used to do this.

The game encourages the development of important soft skills needed in the modern day professional world. Skills such as management, communication, leadership, teamwork and organisation can’t always be learnt in a classroom setting. Our games work in a way whereby an individual can develop them at their own pace and come away with useful assessment feedback. The future for the game looks bright as the Swiss Market Research Society has signed up as of 2018 and the Dutch MOA expect to have completed their addition of a Learning Management System. It’s a great thing to add to any programme looking to develop people into professionals.  

Licenses are £30 (+VAT) per person but there are specific deals for schools, higher education institutions and corporations.