Nova School of Business & Economics has once again been recognized by NOVA University Lisbon with the Teaching Innovation Award, this year granted to Professors Patrícia Xufre and Maria João Quintão Braga for their project “Gamifying Calculus: The ‘Calculus of Thrones’ Experiment to Boost Engagement and Success”. Announced during the 2025 “Dia da NOVA” ceremony, the award highlights innovative teaching practices that drive academic excellence and foster impactful learning experiences. 

The awarded project emerged from the need to address students’ widespread apprehension toward Calculus I and to improve overall success rates. To tackle this challenge, the faculty introduced a gamified learning model that transformed the course into a dynamic, team-based, and continuous learning journey throughout the semester. 

In this redesigned structure, students are grouped into teams and participate in weekly challenges. While the first weekly class maintains a traditional lecture format, the second class shifts entirely: each team nominates a rotating Raven—a representative tasked with explaining the week’s content to peers and solving an exercise on the board—before teams engage in a weekly challenge. 

This approach fostered more consistent study habits, increased motivation, and delivered remarkable results. Beyond achieving the highest approval rates in recent years, the project also led to a significant increase in the number of students who remained enrolled until the end of the course. 

By receiving this award, Nova SBE reinforces its commitment to innovative, student-centered teaching practices and strengthens its contribution to the broader NOVA academic community.