Welcome to the Homepage for the AECT Design & Development Competition

Information about the 2025 competition will be shared in February 2025. 

Planning note: The 2025 competition will occur in person at the 2025 AECT annual conference.

Preview of the 2025 problem statement: The problem is in the context of grand challenges faced by organizations in learning or training. It will focus on an interactive crisis simulation system design that uses advanced technologies, such as AI and virtual reality, to create realistic training scenarios that support decision-making in crisis management.

Congratulations to the 2024 finalist teams (listed in alphabetical order by university):

Kiely Kingsbury and Stacey Feindt

Baker University

Mentor: Dr. Larisa Olesova, University of Florida

Alex Barrett and Chaewon Kim

Florida State University

Mentor: Kathryn Berumen, Oriel STAT A MATRIX

Matthew Ryan McDonald and Rebecca Popielski (Winners of Best Presentation for 2024)

University of Oklahoma

Mentor: Dr. Sungwon Shin, Texas Tech University

 Competition Goals 

• • improve the professional practice of design and development in adult learning and performance-improvement settings;

  • promote collaboration among students, faculty, and practitioners;

  • mentor promising students by leaders outside their home institutions; and,

  • recognize innovative design-and-development approaches to adult learning and performance-improvement problems.

Competition Sponsor

The AECT Design and Development Competition is graciously sponsored by NATO ACT (North Atlantic Treaty Organization Allied Command Transformation). NATO ACT not only provides financial support to the competition but provides the real-world problems that participants respond to! The competition couldn't occur without their generous support in both areas! 

AECT Design & Development Competition Committee Members