Matt Simpson, Technical Director, Entrada Consortium, and Andrew Dos-Santos, Manager, Health Sciences Education Technology, wanted to do something to celebrate Queen’s University’s 175th anniversary in 2016-17, but they weren't in the position throw a party or host an event.

Instead, they came up with a unique way of marking the occasion: naming the latest release of the software platform they helped create “Entrada 1.7.5”.

“The updated version of Entrada was going to be 1.7,” Mr. Simpson says. “When I heard about the 175th anniversary, I had the idea of making it 1.7.5. I asked around the Entrada Consortium, and no one had any objections, so we decided to go with it.”

Entrada launched in 2004 to consolidate course material and information for undergraduate medical students. Entrada and Queen’s 175th anniversary share a champion in David Walker, who was Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the time and now serves as chair of the anniversary’s executive committee.

Entrada has since evolved into a platform that can manage information and reporting for Health Sciences education from undergraduate admissions to continuing professional development. Entrada helps institutions meet accreditation standards, assess student performance and measure program quality.

“The 175th anniversary allows us to reflect on the many achievements of the School of Medicine, which was born just a few short years after Queen’s received its Royal Charter in 1841,” says Richard Reznick, Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences. “Throughout its history, the School of Medicine has advanced medical education. The Health Sciences Education Technology Unit works to advance that tradition, and I am proud to see the impact Entrada continues to have here at Queen’s and other health professions schools around the world.”

The Entrada Consortium has expanded to six other universities across Canada and the United States, including the University of Calgary, UCLA, University of Ottawa, Rush University, University of British Columbia, and most recently the University of Texas Southwestern, and interest continues to grow internationally.

Knowledge of Entrada has spread by word-of-mouth to this point, according to Mr. Simpson. That will change this year as they engage in more outreach activities to encourage broader adoption.

“We are optimistic more schools will implement Entrada in the coming years,” Mr. Dos-Santos says. “With the move toward a competency-based medical education system in Canada, which Queen’s is helping to lead, we believe Entrada is a superior platform to support this transition and help schools track more frequent assessments and ensure students achieve developmental milestones.”

Visit the Entrada website for more information about the platform. More information about the Queen’s 175th anniversary is also available online.

More information about Queen’s 175th anniversary celebration is available online.