Computer science and game design major Saffie Hollingsworth ’27 presented an international collaborative research project, "Beyond the Books," at the International Consortium for Educational Developers' 2026 conference in Spain, engaging 15 faculty from universities worldwide in gameplay and discussion.
Saffie Hollingsworth ’27, a computer science and game design major, took a collaborative two-year project with the University of Iceland and Elon University overseas this summer, presenting at the International Consortium for Educational Development’s (ICED) 2026 conference in Spain.
The project, “Beyond the Books,” is a life-simulation board game designed to help first-year students build the academic, social and emotional skills they need to navigate the transition to university. She has developed the game since spring 2025 through a research collaboration with Jill McSweeney, assistant director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) and assistant professor of wellness, and in partnership with faculty at the University of Iceland.
At ICED, Hollingsworth, along with Elon and Iceland colleagues, led a 90-minute interactive workshop introducing the game’s research foundations and giving 15 faculty from universities around the world the chance to play a prototype themselves. Attendees provided supportive and positive feedback on the game’s design and its potential applications at their own institutions, underscoring the project’s relevance to educational developers and faculty working with first-year students worldwide.
The presentation builds on a project that has already spanned an ocean: Hollingsworth traveled to Iceland in summer 2025 with funding from Elon’s Center for Research on Global Engagement, playtesting the game with students, faculty and staff there and adapting it to account for cultural differences between the two institutions. During Fall 2025, she and McSweeney recruited over 100 students across Elon 1010 and COR 1100 courses to play the game and participate in a semester-long research project that explored their experiences across their first college semester. This upcoming fall, students at the University of Iceland will be invited to participate in the project, playing a translated version of the game.