Academic disciplines develop their own distinctive ways of researching and teaching about the world. These research methodologies and ways of teaching depend upon technologies which change, and upon a similarly changeable set of cultural norms, which are rarely challenged. We can learn from different ways of doing teaching and research and in particular we can learn from playful ways of finding out about a place, where the mobile phone and mapping offer new ways of 'situating knowledge'. This project investigates field encounters between groups of students and academics, from different nations and academic fields. Its aim is to improve learning in the field, by contrasting methods. For three years 35 students will investigate the Mediterranean island of Gozo in a ten day field course. Coming from fields as diverse as Geography, Development Studies, Game Studies, Sociology, New Media Studies and Geographical Information Science they will be players in 'location based games', deployed to structure group-based and student-led investigations of Island Geography. Facilitated by academics and researchers from Manchester, Warwick, Utrecht, Olomouc and Malta the students will compare and contrast different research methods. Mapping games and more conventional research methods will be used. Students will present results of their investigations and begin to appreciate the significant differences that discipline and nationality bring to learning about Island Studies. Learning in the courses will be under the control of students, and staff will design subsequent courses in the light of the successes and failures of early encounters. Field practice will change and best practice will be established. Students will learn about mobile technologies in the field. They will share in game design through a 'game jam'. They will explore the potential of mobile mapping as a research tool and investigate the different assumptions that students bring to the activity. Academic best practice between disciplines will be shared in the field between participants and subsequently with a wider group of stakeholders, in a joint International Seminar held at the conclusion of the project. Peer reviewed journal articles will disseminate our conclusions to different academic audiences as well as to other stakeholders. It is intended that the Partnership will lead to a collaborative International Masters programme. The Strategic Partnership will also lead to improved field practice, a greater awareness of the differences that stem from how we approach the field, an exploration of the potential of serious gaming as an educational tool, and a greater appreciation of the role of direct field experience, across academic disciplines. It will contribute towards modernising academic practice in Europe, enabling learning through technologies that are taken for granted by current (and, more so, future) cohorts of students. It will bring fun back into learning in higher education!