Founded in 2018, SPOT GAMES, promoted by Associação Epic Student, is a start-up focused on providing access to quality education. It is one of the resident organizations at Casa do Impacto, an ecosystem of impactful companies promoted by the Lisbon Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa). a charitable organization overseen by the Portuguese Government. Spot Games develops gamification solutions for teachers, which support the latter in transforming their schools into Schools of Heroes, and also their classrooms, helping students to find a way to outperform themselves, despite their profile, social background, or academic starting point. With Spot Games, teachers turn into Gamemasters, syllabuses into epic journeys, and students become the heroes of their stories.

The company, SPOT GAMES, was co-founded by Francisco Miranda and Joana Lopes who both have over ten years of experience.

Francisco, graduated in engineering from the Lisbon School of Engineering and Technology and has experience as a strategic analyst in the North American market. Ten years ago, he started a small project in the Bairro Cruz neighborhood in Lisbon, which collaborated with teachers to develop strategies and methodologies to motivate their students on their academic journey. In the context of this project, Francisco has gained a unique in-depth look into the reality of the inclusion problem in Portuguese schools and, as a response, specialized in game and motivation design applied to education.

Joana Lopes graduated in Psychometry Rehabilitation from the Faculty of Human Motricity and Mastered in Social Health Psychology by ISCTE in Lisbon. She has gained experience as a volunteer and association leader in vulnerable contexts, reinforced by her professional experience in social and community intervention projects in schools, shelter homes, educational centers, and the larger community. Through these projects, she has developed skills in the fields of non-formal education, teaching and learning methodologies and promotion of personal and social competencies.

The goal of the project is to bring this transformation to schools across the country – a spot game in each school – seeking to influence not only local governments but also the central government to incorporate this innovation. In addition to this, Spot Games also plans on expanding its international operation, in a first phase expanding to Portuguese-speaking African countries, thus continuing the work it has already started with circa 1.000 young individuals in Mozambique.