Engaging students on campus is tough., it’s only getting harder as the way students want to engage has shifted - a lot and fast! Ellie Simpson at Sixty Learn explains how employers and universities can gamify on-campus events.
You’ve got your flyers, your freebies, your carefully crafted presentation, but students are wandering by, lost in their phone, or avoiding eye contact entirely.
For today’s students, attention is currency. They'll only spend it on something that feels worth their time - they want experiences that feel relevant, interactive, and help them grow personally.
The more you involve students and offer real value, the more they’ll engage. And one of the best ways to do that is through games.
Here are five scalable ways Sixty Learn recommend to gamify on-campus events.
1. Escape rooms
Escape rooms are immersive, story-driven challenges where students solve puzzles under pressure. They’re exciting, collaborative, and brilliant for developing transferable skills. They can be run in-person, or digitally, which is a great way to make them scalable.
Tips for employers
Use escape rooms to simulate real workplace scenarios and bring your job roles to life. From managing tight deadlines to handling fictional crises, students get a practical taste of your world - no slide deck needed.
This turns vague job descriptions into tangible understanding and helps students see where they might fit. It’s a great way to attract the right candidates, and keep them.
Tips for universities
Run escape rooms in induction weeks or as part of your core skills programme. They’re a hands-on way to embed behaviours like clear communication and critical thinking - mapped directly to your skills framework.
When only 49% of employers say graduates are career-ready (ISE, 2024), immersive tools like escape rooms will play a major role in closing that gap.
2. On-campus mini challenges
Mini challenges are low fuss, high impact experiences that give students a taster of a specific skill or role.
Tips for employers
Next-gen talent don’t want to be told; they want to try. Run short, pop-up challenges based on real roles, like a negotiation task inspired by your sales team, or a logic puzzle that brings your supply chain roles to life.
They’re interactive, memorable, and help students self-select into the roles that actually suit them. Mini challenges turn vague job descriptions into real-world insight.
Tips for universities
Integrate short hands-on challenges into careers workshops or even employer co-designed live briefs.
Prioritisation tasks, scenario puzzles, or leadership challenges reinforce employability theory in a way that’s fast-paced, fun and tangible.
3. Swap physical merch for digital mini games
Research by Cibyl found that students are increasingly turned off when offered free merchandise by employers. So, ditch the plastic and try clever, fast-paced games students can play on their phone.
Tips for employers
Digital mini games are quick to play and their competitive nature grabs attention instantly. They also offer lasting value.
You can embed brand messaging, showcase role insights, and even capture student details through leaderboards or prize incentives - enabling you to remain in students’ minds long after you’ve left campus.
And because they’re digital, they’re scalable, which means no logistical nightmares!
Tips for universities
Use mini games to spotlight services or help students explore your employability framework. They’re perfect for QR code posters or campus-wide campaigns, and are a much more engaging alternative to handouts or leaflets.
4. Mobile quizzes that deliver personalised insights
Quizzes give students something most of them are craving: clarity. Clarity on where they might fit, what they’re great at, which roles might suit them. And that’s all highly personal, which is why quizzes are a perfect engagement tool.
Tips for employers
Create a quiz that maps students’ responses and strengths to potential roles in your organisation. At a time when many don’t know what they want to do, a personalised recommendation can provide confidence and direction. It also encourages reflection and gets students talking.
When only 19% of students say careers fairs help them understand what a job is really like (ISE, 2024), this kind of insight makes a huge difference.
Tips for universities
Embed story-driven, quiz-based tools into employability lectures to help students reflect on their strengths, values, and preferred work styles.
They’re a simple way to shift learning from passive listening to active doing. They can bring your skills framework to life in a format that students actually want to engage with. Plus, they give you data to spot patterns, gaps, and development areas.
5. Scavenger hunts and leaderboards
Bring energy to your events with a classic format that is digitised, personalised and designed for self-led discovery.
Tips for employers
Guide students through a short trail of content - think bite-sized videos, role descriptions, or scenario tasks. Each stop reveals something new about your teams, values, or culture. Add a leaderboard to drive competition and reward exploration.
They’re simple to set up, fun to play, and work brilliantly at insight days or recruitment events where you want students to explore, not just observe.
Tips for universities
Create a campus-wide scavenger hunt that helps students discover your services or employability content through bite-sized tasks and digital clues.
Whether part of induction week or embedded into the curriculum, it’s a fun, scalable way to turn passive awareness into real engagement.
Gamification of on-campus events isn’t a gimmick. It’s a smart, interactive tool to connect with students who are overwhelmed by choice and hungry for relevance.
Whether you're promoting early talent roles or building career confidence and skills, gamified strategies turn passive audiences into curious, engaged participants.