Bioeconomy Serious Play: An experiential learning approach to teaching bioeconomy in higher education and doctoral training

The bioeconomy has become a strategic pillar of sustainable development, climate action, circular resource use, and innovation-driven growth. However, its inherent interdisciplinarity and systemic complexity pose substantial pedagogical challenges in higher education. Students and doctoral candidates must simultaneously understand scientific processes, industrial scalability, environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and business feasibility. This paper introduces Bioeconomy Serious Play, a structured experiential learning tool designed to address these educational needs. During gameplay, student teams collaboratively develop a realistic bioeconomy innovation project across five thematic learning boards-Scientific problem, Project development, Business model, Marketing strategy, and Environmental and social impact-under timed, competitive conditions. Learning is supported through expert mediation, responsible innovation framing via Opportunity cards, and realistic uncertainty simulation through Trouble and Bonus cards. The paper describes the design, instructional framework, and pedagogical potential of the game (providing all the required tools for replication) and discuss how it fosters systems thinking, interdisciplinary reasoning, collaboration, and resilience under uncertainty. Implications for integration into higher education and doctoral curricula are presented, along with recommendations for further development and evaluation.