Elsevier Opens Registration for Global Engineering Academic Challenge to Support Active Learning

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October 5, 2016
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Elsevier Opens Registration for Global Engineering Academic Challenge to Support Active Learning

NEW YORK, October 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

    Five-week, Game-based Learning Challenge Open to all Engineering Graduates and
Under-graduates Around the World 

    Elsevier [http://www.elsevier.com ], a world-leading provider of scientific, technical
and medical information products and services, today announced it has opened registration
for the Engineering Academic Challege (EAC) 2016 [http://eac.elsevier.com ] - which
officially begins on 10th October 2016. The annual five-week challenge gives engineering
professors, instructors and librarians around the world the chance to integrate real-world
engineering and science problem-solving into their STEM education communities, by
immersing students in a practical problem-solving environment. Cross-disciplinary
questions based on National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Grand Challenges cover themes
that include Future of Energy, Future of Making, and Future of Medicine, and have been
drafted by a team of engineering students at Drexel University in Pennsylvania.
Participants will compete to solve questions for five consecutive weeks, with prizes
awarded to top performing students.

    Now in its 11th year, the Engineering Academic Challenge, previously known as the
Knovel
[https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/knovel-engineering-information/research-and-education ]
Academic Challenge, expands benefits to participants by providing the option to not only
access Knovel's engineering information and tools as they solve challenges, but also
access to Engineering Village's [http://www.elsevier.com/engineeringvillage ] flagship
database, Ei Compendex. Another key enhancement is a new challenge platform that enables
participants to more seamlessly register and set up their profiles with avatars, track
competition globally between individuals and other universities, and share results over a
variety of social media channels.

    A survey from the Association of American Colleges and Universities
[https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/20/study-finds-big-gaps-between-student-and-employer-perceptions ]
(AACU) found only 23% of employers believe graduates are skilled at
applying knowledge to real-world problems. The challenge is aimed at promoting active
learning based on practical examples of inter-disciplinary scenarios, helping to prepare
students for future careers in academia and industry.

    The prizes for this year's Engineering Academic Challenge include:

    Weekly winners with the highest points receive a $100 Amazon gift card:

       
        - The 1st Place Grand Prize winner with the highest accumulation of points at the
          end of the challenge will receive an Apple iPad.
        - The 2nd Place Grand Prize winner with the second highest accumulated score at the end
          of the challenge will receive a SONOS speaker.

    "Today, students are digital natives - by the time they are 21, the average person has
played 10,000 hours of games," commented Ann-Marie Roche, Director of Customer Engagement
at Elsevier. "The Engineering Academic Challenge has been designed to reflect this, and to
make learning as interactive and effective as possible. We are committed to developing
students' skills to make sure that they are ready for the workplace. The challenge will
help support engineering professors and educators to create interactive learning
experiences and improve student outcomes by working on real-world problems."

    Dr. Antonios Kontsos, director of Drexel's Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Group and
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, commented, "Gaming is the closest analogy
to how students learn today. The traditional model of teaching, where we require students
to sit in a chair for two or three hours at a time, bears no resemblance to what students
do in daily life, so game-based learning - such as Elsevier's Engineering Academic
Challenge - helps to best prepare students for the workforce."

    All participants can view the following EAC webinar
[https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/4958154604437531908 ] to quickly learn how to
use both databases when solving the weekly questions. The webinar provides an overview of
how to use the techniques, skills and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering
practice.

    Engineering Village [http://www.engineeringvillage.com ] is the home of Ei Compendex
[http://www.elsevier.com/solutions/engineering-village/content/compendex ], the broadest
and most complete engineering literature database available to engineers. Ei Compendex
comprises over 18 million records from thousands of publications published worldwide,
spanning 190 engineering disciplines, 1970-present. Content is indexed specifically for
engineers using the Ei Thesaurus, enabling precise search and discovery of relevant
engineering research. Knovel
[https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/knovel-engineering-information/research-and-education ]
is an engineering decision-support solution enabling engineers to confidently answer
technical questions drawing upon trusted data from more than 120 providers through a
cloud-based platform with powerful search and interactive analytical tools.

    Engineering and science students from academic institutions across the globe who wish
to participate in this year's challenge, can register at: eac.elsevier.com
[https://eac.elsevier.com ].

    About Elsevier: 

    Elsevier [https://www.elsevier.com ] is a world-leading provider of information
solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals,
empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make
ground-breaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress.
Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect
[http://www.sciencedirect.com ], Scopus [http://www.scopus.com ], Research Intelligence
[https://www.elsevier.com/research-intelligence ] and ClinicalKey
[https://www.clinicalkey.com ] - and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet
[http://www.thelancet.com ] and Cell [http://www.cell.com ], and more than 35,000 book
titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group
[http://www.relx.com ], a world-leading provider of information and analytics for
professional and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com
[https://www.elsevier.com ]

       
         
        Media contact 
        Christopher Capot 
        Director, Corporate Relations, Elsevier 
        +1 917-704-5174 
        c.capot@elsevier.com 

     

Elsevier

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