Saving Alex: A Nordic-Baltic educational escape room is now open to everyone

From summer school activity to open educational resource

Originally developed for the BalticSeaBioMed Summer School, Saving Alex has evolved into an open educational resource through several years of collaboration between educators from Nordic and Baltic universities. Developed through a Nordplus-funded partnership, the game challenges players to uncover clues, analyse evidence, test hypotheses, and navigate ethical judgement through an immersive game-based learning experience.

At Karolinska Institutet, Rachel Fisher, Jurga Laurencikiene, and Louisa Cheung have contributed to the project. 

"We wanted to create a learning experience where participants actively engage with complex questions rather than simply receiving information," says Louisa Cheung, Assistant Senior Lecturer at the Department of Medicine, Solna.

The game was officially launched at a network-wide event where students and educators from partner universities gathered online and locally at their respective institutions to play and celebrate the completion of the project.

"What I appreciate most about this project is how it reflects the spirit of the network itself: collaboration across institutions, experimentation with new pedagogical approaches, and a shared commitment to creating meaningful learning experiences for students."

Beyond the summer school

Although originally developed for the BalticSeaBioMed Summer School, educators are now exploring the resource in a range of educational contexts.

Early experiences suggest that the game can support not only learning activities but also social interaction and team-building among students. At Karolinska Institutet, educators are exploring how to use the escape room with Master's students as part of introductory and community-building activities.

The development team hopes the resource will continue to evolve through use and adaptation by educators across institutions.

"We are excited to see how colleagues use the game in their own contexts," says Louisa Cheung. "One of the most rewarding aspects of the project has been seeing how collaboration across universities can result in a resource that benefits a wider educational community."

Sharing lessons learned

The project was developed within the BalticSeaBioMed network, an international collaboration between universities in the Nordic and Baltic regions that promotes innovation in biomedical education.

Louisa Cheung will present the development and educational design of Saving Alex at the KI Educational Congress 2026.