Evaluation approach for the impact of a Gamified University Environment

This paper presents an evaluation approach for the impact of a gamified learning environment within a university setting, focusing on the results of students and cadets in the Cybersecurity program at Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, the findings and the implementation of this paper are successfully applied as part of the task “Analysis and development of methods and metrics for assessing cybersecurity” within the National Scientific Program “Security and Defense”. The evaluation approach integrates both quantitative and qualitative data, assessing key factors such as student progress, academic performance, motivation, engagement, and satisfaction. By employing tools such as progress tracking, academic dashboards, level progression systems, and feedback surveys, the study provides an analysis of the impact of gamified elements on learning outcomes. The authors develop a novel mathematical method to evaluate the environment’s effectiveness and introduce an innovative fuzzy logic-based approach to assess the success of the gamified environment. Both highlight the positive impact of gamification on student achievement and retention.