Seventeen software packages from universities and other organisations in the UK have been shortlisted to attend the final judging round of the 1998 European Academic Software Awards (EASA), to be held at ALT-C at the University of Oxford on 19-21 September. There are 35 finalists competing for ten prizes.

Nick Hammond of the Association for Learning Technology, the principal UK partner in the awards, was pleased at the high number of UK entries which got through to the final round.

"While the UK entries were not in the majority, over half the finalists are from the UK, which is a greater proportion than ever before. This demonstrates a growing commitment to the development of quality educational software in Britain," he said.

There were 249 entries to EASA 98 in total, including 90 from the UK - more than double the number of UK entries in 1996. Of the 17 UK finalists, three are in the medical science category, three in biological sciences, three in generic support, two in mathematics, two in social sciences, and one each in arts and humanities, education, economics, and engineering.

The full list of EASA finalists can be seen on the Web at: http://cti-psy.york.ac.uk/easa98/finalists.htm

The EASA prizes will be presented at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford on Monday 21 September during the opening ceremony of ALT-C 98.

The software exhibition will be open to the public on the morning of Monday 21 September. Journalists wishing to attend the finals and award ceremony should contact Anna Turner, ALT-C 98 at: [email protected] Tel: 44 (0)1865 288166.

Notes To Editors:

• EASA: The EASA is a biennial competition organised by the European Knowledge Media Association (EKMA).EKMA comprises learning technology organisations in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. UK participation in the 1998 awards has been sponsored by the Higher Education Funding Councils' Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta).

• ALT: The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) is a registered charity and learned society funded by subscription. It promotes good practice in the use and development of learning technologies in further and higher education through a variety of events and publications. ALT members are drawn from many different areas of education and companies with an interest in learning technologies. Contact: Rhonda Riachi, Director of ALT, University of Oxford at:
  [email protected]
  Tel: 44 (0)1865 270290.

• Becta: Becta is a government funded agency which works with other agencies and organisations to implement government policy in the use and development of information and communications technology in education, through schools, colleges and lifelong learning.

• EASA 98 UK Finalists:

ACCS
Alison Hudson, Sheffield Hallam University
[email protected]
0114 225 4747

Bihari Farmer
John Stainfield, University of Plymouth
[email protected]
01752 233069

CALRAD
Mrs Jennifer Wilson, University of Dundee
[email protected]
01738 638665

CASTLE
Dr Helen Pownall, Univerity of Leicester
[email protected]
0116 252 5085

CC2
Douglas Quinney, Keele University
[email protected]
01782 583266

coMentor
Catherine Skinner, Huddersfield University
[email protected]
01484 473302

Glacial Analysis: an interactive introduction
Dr Jane Hart, University of Southampton
[email protected]
01703 594615

HomeBeats
Arun Kundnani, Institute of Race Relations
[email protected]
0171 837 0041

The Human Brain CD-ROM
Marion Hall, Open University
[email protected]
01908 655136

Interactive Rheumatology Tutor
Dr Ray Armstrong FRCP, Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust
[email protected]
01703 796451, 01703 796452

LabAssistant
Dr Richard Parsons, University of Dundee
[email protected]
01382 344265

The Marketing CD-ROMs
Paul Smith, The Multimedia Marketing Organisation
[email protected]
0171 320 1454

Merlin
Debra Marsh, University of Hull
[email protected]
01482 466186

SALMON
Dr Paul Kenyon, University of Plymouth
[email protected]
01752 233157

Transmath V2.1
Dr J Pitchford, University of Leeds
[email protected]
0113 233 5174

The Trunk
Peter Twining, The Open University
[email protected]
01908 655078

The X-Ray Files
J Stephenson, The Dental School, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
[email protected]
0191 222 8719