QinetiQ management are keen to ensure that staff are continually innovating, and collaborating, to produce effective outcomes for all stakeholders. A recent example can be seen within our Training and Simulation Services team in the form of video gaming.
Speak to most businesses and they would consider the idea of their staff playing video games to be a hindrance to productivity. However, at QinetiQ we have found that using gaming as a starting point and conversation starter has had a myriad of advantages in terms of output.
Day–to-day, the Training and Simulation Services team, under the leadership of Miles Adcock, work with the Armed Forces providing simulation training technologies.They came up with the idea of installing a giant gaming monitor and gaming console as a way for QinetiQ employees from across the organisation to meet colleagues from other departments and share creative ideas. The idea was to develop a social space for discussing concepts amongst peers and somewhere in which mere notions could start to become reality.
The idea has developed so that now there are regularly 60-70 QinetiQ employees coming together. They are gaming and interacting and being inspired with ideas as a direct result of the communal atmosphere.
To give an example, a QinetiQ employee recently downloaded an app which she demonstrated to the team in which it is possible to add augmented reality to normal situations, so for example, add a Chinook helicopter to a scenario. This proved to be a great tool for use in the Training and Simulation centre.
QinetiQ Schools Day 2012
We have regular schools days at QinetiQ in which we aim to contribute to the learning and development of what will become the next generation of rocket scientists, and what better way to involve young people in the work we do than via video games? We then show them how video gaming technology is used in real life in our Training and Simulation Hall. We also had some local MPs in recently who enjoyed the experience enormously.
Overall, the development has had a positive impact on the company, and has encouraged everyone to think outside the box in terms of developing ideas that have tangible benefits not only for QinetiQ employees, in terms of creativity and wellbeing, but also for our customers. It is invaluable in assisting teams to come up with the ideas that will make a tangible difference to our customers’ bottom line.
QinetiQ Training and Simulation Services will be attending I/ITSEC show next week.