Gamification Makes Life Enjoyable: CUSAT VC

KOCHI:
Gamification makes life enjoyable, said CUSAT Vice Chancellor Dr. K.N. Madhusoodanan. He was speaking in the logo release function of the “Merry Metro” project at the CUSAT seminar complex. CUSAT will join hands with Kochi Metro to gamify Edappally Metro Station in association with Aster Medcity and Yeldo Mar Baselios College, Kothamangalam.

Dr. Manu Melwin Joy, Assistant Professor, School of Management Studies, CUSAT who conceived the project will be implementing it. Dr. P.G. Sankaran, Pro-Vice-Chancellor presided over the meeting. He stressed the importance of Gamification that can create a real change in the lives of the common man. Dr. Manu Melwin Joy the detailed project and Dr. Meera V. Registrar; Ambili Vijayaraghavan, Chief Operating Officer, Aster Medcity and  Dr. Jagathy Raj V.P., Director, CUSAT School of Management Studies spoke at the function.

The overall theme of Merry Metro is to help the passengers unleash the hidden hero within each one of them through various activities. Dr. Manu has integrated five-game elements into the ecosystem of Metro Station to ensure maximum engagement and involvement of the passengers. They are the 5 Cs of Gamification – Cause, Challenge, Curiosity, Choice, and Constraints. The game element of challenge is used for Squat Corner – Be a Health Hero Activity. Passengers who take 30 squats will get a free ticket. The game element of curiosity was used for the Healthy Stairs activity. Metro stairs show how many calories passengers have burnt, shows quotes about the health benefits of taking stairs, and congratulates them for opting for stairs instead of escalator. Both these activities are sponsored by Aster Medcity.

The game element of choice was used for Vote for your Hero Activity. Now the train ticket you throw away after the travel will become the voting tool to vote for your favourite hero (Messi or Ronaldo). Game elements of Time and Resource constraints were used for the Puzzle Corner Activity. Puzzles related to Independence Day have to be cracked by passengers and if they do, they will get an opportunity to be donated a book to a government school.

The game element of the cause was used for the Health robot. Saba robot will help passengers to sanitize, check the position of the mask, check the temperature, and be a health hero by following Covid protocol. These three activities are sponsored by Yeldo Mar Baselious College. The
activity will be carried out as a pilot project from 3rd August to 15th August for two hours a day (5 pm to 7 pm). Student Volunteers from the
School of Management Studies, CUSAT will carry out the event.

The official Logo of Project Merry Metro was created by Anjan Satish who is the Winner of a national award for Outstanding Creative Adult with Disabilities, instituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The mascot of the project is a little girl named “Kunjanna”.  Like the Amul girl, the mascot is carefully selected to uphold the entire spirit of the project. The tagline of the project is “Be with Metro, Be like Kunjanna”. Kunjanna epitomizes the dictum of a happy soul who looks for positivity everywhere. Her message to the passengers is “Be Happy. Be Healthy. Be Helpful”. Her cut-outs will be kept in eight different places of the metro station where she motivates the passengers to involve in activities to unleash the health and social heroes in each one of them.