WHU at gamescom 2025: How Gaming Promotes Innovation in Education

Gaming has become big business over the years—and this year’s gamescom in Cologne, Germany, proved it. It is for that reason that WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, in conjunction with several organizations including game – The German Games Industry Association, Koelnmesse, FusionCampus, the Bertelsmann Stiftung, and the Foundation for Digital Games Culture, brought together some 140 managers and decision-makers from both corporations and non-profits to what is hailed as the world’s largest gaming convention. 

But why? To facilitate an exchange with gaming enthusiasts that leads to new perspectives—perspectives that stretch far beyond the traditional gaming and entertainment arena and add value to both the economic and social sectors.

“Gaming represents more than an economic factor. It’s also important for education, the conveyance of democratic values, and social participation,” says Dr. Peter Kreutter, Managing Director Foundations at WHU. The school has been a gamescom partner since 2015, regularly organizing relevant sub-events, such as panel discussions and get-togethers, in part because the gaming convention offers such a unique space for people to learn something new. WHU also hosted a successful similar format at this year’s Wacken Open Air festival for the first time.

The convention saw business leaders discuss the role of gaming at today’s companies during the Corporates@gamescom session, organized by WHU, Fusion Campus, WPP Media, the CIO Stiftung, and Koelnmesse. Alexandra Kühne (Employer Branding at TK Elevator), Matthias Nawrocki (Head of Metaverse at ERGO), Fabian Kietzmann (Chief Products & Services Officer of WPP Media), Johanna Heller (Academic Relations Manager at Schwarz Corporate Solutions), Thilo Wessel (Head of Social Media International at Kaufland), and Christian Radtke (Vice President M&A for DZ Bank) showed how gaming is being used more and more in employer branding, team building, process optimization, and to help find new employees.

Johanna Heller, who spoke at the event about the relevance of digital channels and solutions and also noted how the companies of the Schwarz Group are actively involved in that same area, spoke highly of the convention: “Gamescom has given us valuable ideas for how gaming can connect us with a relevant set of online communities—and find new talent. We’ve gained exciting insights into how we can purposefully position our ecosystem for the long-term.

Following the discussion, the participants roamed about the convention. They visited, among others, Ubisoft to get an exclusive glimpse into the mindset of Europe’s largest game developer. At the TakeTV & gamescom LAN booth, focus was on community building in the gaming sector, whereas Siemens & Ferchau concentrated on how helpful gaming can be in recruiting and employer branding.

“Gamescom shows, quite formidably, how gaming has an impact far beyond just entertainment. Gaming has become a fertile ground for innovative recruiting, employer branding, and collaboration,” said Mahran Meissner, Head of Technology & Innovation Space in IT at Siemens AG and alumnus of WHU and CIO’s joint Executive Education program, expressing how the event benefits companies. “And it is for that reason that the CIO and IT community sees gaming as an exciting field where we can gain new ideas for the future of work and of technology.

With the Foundations@gamecom session (organized by WHU, the Bertelsmann Stiftung, and the Foundation for Digital Games Culture), the second day of Gamescom shifted to a focus on foundations, non-profits, and educational initiatives. Olaf Zimmermann (Chairman of the Advisory Board at the Foundation for Digital Games Culture) and Nandita Wegehaupt (Managing Director of the Foundation for Digital Games Culture), Marek Wallenfels (Bertelsmann Stiftung), and WHU’s Dr. Kreutter welcomed 40 business leaders from the foundation sector. 

After a tour of the entertainment area, participants visited the gamescom congress, which focuses on key social and political issues. The “Confidence, Potential, and Unresolved Issues: Political and Social Perspectives of Gaming Communities in Germany” presentation saw Jessica Gerke and Joachim Rother from the Bertelsmann Stiftung showcase a new study, the first to systematically examine how gamers in Germany feel about democracy, social issues, and political engagement. Additionally, the “Shaping NRW’s Schools with Games – Promoting Democracy and Participation through Play” project from the Foundation for Digital Game Culture presented its first interim results. The goal of this project is to help schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, use digital games to design lesson plans focused on democratic and inclusive topics, as well as topics that promote a culture of remembrance.“Gamescom is a unique platform that connects two worlds: economics and society,” noted Dr. Kreutter. “Both days at the convention proved how valuable interdisciplinary exchange between corporates, organizations, foundations, and educators truly is. Gaming connects us—and opens up a world of new perspectives on leadership, innovation, and social responsibility.”