Teaching project management using project-action learning (PAL) games: a case involving engineering management students in Hong Kong

How to educate project management (PM) professionals has always been a topic for debate, and it remains popular to discuss the teaching and learning of PM within higher education sector. Learning approaches such as action learning and game-based learning are proven effective in enhancing students’ participation and motivation. Game-action learning (GAL) offers an attractive and challenging learning environment for students to learn and apply, in specific problem scenarios. GAL supports a better understanding of the importance of critical concepts and fills the teaching gaps. This article presents a game-based action learning (GAL) approach in simulating a new product development project, which can be adopted in an short intensive course or a semester long subject. In this article, reflections from the instructor’s perspective are presented to offer a good reference for educators who are keen on using GAL in PM teaching.