News Release

East Coast Reboot: Let the Tech Games Begin

Wilmington University's ECRB puts digital skills and innovation to the test

It's a showcase for inspiration and innovation. It's the intersection of cutting edge and competition. It's a tournament for the technology obsessed and the creatively gifted. It's the third annual East Coast ReBoot (ECRB), and it's happening in the Pratt Student Center on Wilmington University's New Castle campus this weekend, Friday, Nov. 11 to Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016.

East Coast ReBoot's organizers moved this year's competition from May to November in order to be a part of Delaware Innovation Week (Nov. 11 to 19, 2016). While its target audience is college students, anyone with a tech frame of mind is welcome to compete. 

Pre-registration is required. The registration fee is $10 per participant.

The three-day event hosts students from around the region who'll match wits and skills in competitions that include game development and design, website construction, 3D imaging, cybersecurity capture-the-flag, a film making race and the ever popular "Photoshop Fight Night."

But East Coast ReBoot is more than just a zero-sum game. In collaborating with teammates to solve problems and deliver results, designers, developers and artists are cultivating their own creative abilities, say the event's organizers.

Experienced professionals will be on hand to judge participants' efforts that will culminate in a Sunday afternoon awards ceremony. Experts will field IT business proposals and video game pitches, as well as review and critique resumes and portfolios for the most professional presentation.

"We see it as a chance to reboot yourself, your skills, your outlook on things ... to see what you're capable of doing outside of the classroom and outside your ordinary routine," said Scott Shaw, who chairs the game design and development program and the video and motion graphics program in the Wilmington University College of Technology. "It is fast. It is high-pressure. But it's meant to be fun. That's why we do it - to test ourselves and to break new ground."

ECRB also offers a window on what students might experience upon entry into the digital media industry. Creating logos on demand for a fictional company in Photoshop Fight Night, building a web page from a handful of random graphic elements on a USB drive, or inventing a game inspired by a single word (like "oxymoron") resemble the development cycles and crunch times in real companies and businesses that aim to ship products on time and under budget.

"If you're hesitant, if you don't think this is the place for you, I totally encourage you to join us anyway," said Shaw. "At the very least, you're in a room full of like-minded folks. You'll have some fun, learn some stuff, and talk to people. That's really what it's all about."

For more information, visit blog.wilmu.edu/ecrb or contact Shaw at scott.r.shaw@wilmu.edu or (302) 356-6987.

About Wilmington University

Wilmington University is a private, nonprofit institution committed to providing flexible, career-oriented, traditional and online associate, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs. Ranked as the second fastest growing nonprofit doctoral institution in America 2004 – 2014 by The Almanac of The Chronicle of Higher Education, affordable tuition, academic excellence and individualized attention are hallmarks of the University that enable greater student success in their chosen careers. For more information, contact Wilmington University at 302-356-INFO (4636), via email at infocenter@wilmu.edu, or visit our website: www.wilmu.edu.

Published: Tuesday, November 8, 2016 - New Castle, DE