My Achievements: A Lever for Engagement in Santander X Explorer

Chema Antón

More than just digital badges, achievements are a system designed to** motivate, retain, and strengthen the community**. This is a mechanic tested in the video game industry that today drives the participation of Explorers.

In the mid-2000s, while working as a specialist journalist, I was fortunate to witness one of the most fascinating periods in the video game industry: the second ‘console war’ between Sony (PlayStation 3), Nintendo (Wii), and Microsoft (Xbox 360).

A multi-billion-pound leisure market was exploding before our eyes, bringing into homes across the world some of the most impressive technological advances of the time: consoles with hard drives that expanded device capabilities, motion-sensor games that widened the player base, and standardised online gaming that finally broke through the glass ceiling that PC online gaming had faced for years.

This pre-smartphone and pre-social media era hinted at where the entertainment and internet industry would head in the following two decades: permanent connectivity (online gaming) and social networks (gaming communities).

The real competition between manufacturers was no longer just about the number of devices sold, but about keeping players engaged in front of the screen.

Each manufacturer established its own retention strategy, translating it into design elements: Microsoft bet on a permanent metagame with Achievements, the Gamerscore, and an integrated social network in Xbox Live that turned every match into part of a collective progression; Sony relied on long-term value, with trophies that made you stand out among competitors and the PlayStation Plus subscription (its online gaming and content download channel); and Nintendo broke the mould with the Wii, bringing gaming to the entire family through motion control, Wii Fit routines, and social living-room experiences as repeat levers. Three different paths, but with one very clear shared goal: to increase usage frequency, prolong the lifespan of each title, and above all, create habits that made players return again and again.

Achievement systems in gaming were based on three key concepts for retaining people: first, cumulative progression, where every action contributes to a global score and creates continuity between different experiences; second, a hierarchy of goals, with easy objectives at the beginning and more complex ones later on, sparking aspiration and generating social prestige once achieved; and third, internal unlocks, turning exploration and repetition into tangible rewards within the game universe itself. Together, these strategies not only boosted replayability and prolonged the lifespan of each experience but also reinforced the emotional bond between the player and the activity, transforming each step into a visible and meaningful milestone.

Two Decades of Evolution: From Gaming to Life

Over two decades, achievements have travelled from consoles to infuse almost every digital experience. First, they were just a playful layer that encouraged 100% completion of a title. Then, they transformed into reputation systems in online communities like Reddit and urban missions such as those on Foursquare. Later, they jumped into health, becoming activity rings on the iPhone or Fitbit badges that encouraged consistency, and they consolidated in education with badges on Khan Academy, points in ClassDojo, or streaks in Duolingo. Today, we also find them in productivity platforms, always with the same logic: setting clear objectives, offering immediate feedback, making progression visible, and sharing it socially.

This journey shows how a mechanic born to extend gaming became a cultural language of behavioural design, able to accompany our leisure, learning, and work routines.

There came a moment when we realised that our role with Santander X Explorer participants did not end with recruitment. The truly important part began afterwards: helping them take their first steps in the programme, accompanying them week by week, and encouraging them to reach the end. That was when we asked ourselves how we could strengthen that experience in a simple and motivating way. The answer came from a familiar field: video game achievement systems. Just as those icons and medals kept millions of players hooked on a title, we thought that a structure of badges could become an effective tool to retain participants and make every advance in Santander X Explorer visible.

This is how we conceived and developed a whole gamified progress experience, now available in the “My Profile” section of the programme’s platform. This section is organised into four blocks offering a complete view of each participant’s experience. The first gathers personal data, such as name, university of origin, assigned group, and other basic identifiers. The second block is “My Statistics”, a dashboard with specific metrics: minutes spent on the platform, files shared, comments given and received, likes given and obtained, deliverables uploaded, and sessions attended, all accompanied by a total score that summarises activity. The third block is “My Achievements”, a grid of badges with icons and colours that light up as the user completes milestones in the programme. Finally, there is “Progress in the Training Path”, a visual representation in the form of circles showing the percentage achieved in each section of the learning journey. Together, these four blocks turn the profile into a clear, practical tool for tracking personal development and situating oneself in relation to the programme.

The Achievement System in Santander X Explorer

The** “My Achievements”** section brings together a total of 16 badges displayed in a clean and accessible visual panel, designed as if it were a showcase of personal milestones. Some achievements are unique and direct — such as Welcome or Kickstart, marking the beginning — while others offer progressive variants in the form of bronze, silver, gold, and diamond medals, as with Quizzer (attendance at Q&A events), Pitch Hero (participation in the Explorer Pitch Weekend), Top 1 (for leading the ranking), or Socialité (for attending group meetings). There are also achievements that reward consistency, such as Streaker, which can accumulate up to 12 consecutive weeks accessing the training path, or those that recognise community participation, such as GroupChat (for joining the WhatsApp group), Follower (for following Santander X Explorer’s social media), Friday Fan (for taking part in an Explorer Friday), or Fav doc (if a document receives five likes).

The panel is not a simple list: each box shows an icon and title, with bright colours and recognisable symbols, and hovering or clicking on them reveals a short description explaining how to unlock it. At a glance, participants can see which achievements they have obtained and which are pending, turning the panel into a symbolic progress map: it not only measures activity but also provides a visual narrative of the experience. The digital design — a grid of icons lighting up as progress is made — makes visible a process that would otherwise be abstract, simply reinforcing the sense of advancement and belonging to the programme.

Engagement, Strategy, and Nostalgia

Strategically, achievements work as an engagement tool that blends psychology, design, and digital culture. By setting clear goals and translating them into actions with visible feedback, they generate a value cycle that fuels motivation and strengthens community conversation. For a hyperconnected generation, this system acts as positive motivation, turning FOMO into participation, reminding every week that there is a new opportunity to move forward without the anxiety of an endless streak.

It’s not about the prize itself, which has only social value, but about configuring a series of achievable goals that sustain attention. To reach this point, it is crucial to design the experience with** patience, clear expectations, and a positive approach.**

From a programme management perspective, all this translates into participation metrics: first interactions, weekly recurrence, quality contributions to the community, and sustained retention over time. Indicators showing how a well-built symbolic system can multiply consistency and commitment.

It is inevitable to feel a touch of nostalgia. Having experienced firsthand the birth of achievement systems in video games, in the midst of the battle between industry giants, was a unique moment: witnessing how a simple on-screen icon could change the way we played and understood progress. Two decades later, at Santander X Explorer, we have been able to transfer that logic to a very different context: learning and entrepreneurship.

This is not about copying formulas, but adapting them. Cumulative progression, goal hierarchy, and unlocks as incentives make as much sense in a video game as in a learning journey, provided they are designed carefully, with clear expectations and a positive focus. That is why, as a team, we feel proud to have integrated an achievement system that is not just an add-on, but a strategic engagement tool: it makes progress visible, reinforces consistency, multiplies community interaction, and turns the intangibility of learning into recognisable milestones.

If twenty years ago achievements prolonged the life of a video game, today they help hundreds of participants stay motivated in an entrepreneurship programme. And perhaps that is the greatest satisfaction: having managed, as a team, to transform an idea born in the entertainment industry into a driver of commitment and growth in entrepreneurial education.