Challenge of energy efficiency for students, teachers and employees of higher education The contest “Green Campus - Challenge of Energy Efficiency in Higher Education” aims to promote the dissemination and adoption of energy efficiency measures on the campuses of Portuguese universities and polytechnic institutions. Forty-four institutions have accepted the challenge, from north to south of mainland Portugal and the Azores. At the end of the contest, the three best teams as well as the best measurement technique and the best behavioral measure, will be awarded with cash prizes. The Challenge is directed to the entire higher education community. Multidisciplinary teams of students, teachers or employees may register on the website (http://www.greencampusportugal.info) and choose their campus building for which they will suggest a set of measures that would increase its energy efficiency. Registrations will be open until November 30th. The challenge was developed by MIT Portugal and Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), through Centro de Investigação IN+, in partnership with SelfEnergy and INTELI – Inteligência em Inovação, and is directed to the network of Polytechnic and University organizations. GREEN CAMPUS is funded through the PPEC - Plan for Promoting Energy Efficiency in Electricity Consumption, an initiative promoted by ERSE - Energy Services Regulatory Authority. "The institutions of higher education have a central role in finding new solutions and in public awareness, therefore are essential partners in implementing a more sustainable energy model in the competitive societies in which they operate" argues Professor Cruz Serra, President of IST. "It has become more important to value measures that foster the reduction of energy consumption on college campuses and, at the same time, promote a change in the individual behavior of it’s the entire community - students, teachers and other employees" says President Serra. Miguel Matias, Founder and Vice-President of the company SelfEnergy, also points out that university campuses contain public buildings with high energy consumption. He notes, however, that "those same universities are training managers and engineers who can make a difference in changing the energy paradigm in the coming decades, especially in terms of increased energy efficiency and utilization of renewable energy resources.” In SelfEnergy it is believed that this same concept can be applied not only to college campuses, but also to high schools or even military establishments and hospitals. If that were the case, “not only we will be able to gather the best ideas to reduce energy costs, but we will also use these same projects for the promotion of entrepreneurship and cooperation of stakeholders" in future projects. Supplementary Information: About Green Campus: The sets of measures proposed by participants will be evaluated by a panel of industry experts to assess their impact, and the teams with the best proposals will be awarded cash prizes: € 6,000, € 3,000 and € 1,500 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places, respectively. There will also be awarded two prizes worth € 1,500 - to the "Best Technical Measure" and "Best Behavior Measure." During October: In October information sessions will be held at various schools across the country. During 2011/2012 school year: Throughout the duration of the contest, participants can attend webinars (online seminars) on topics related to the various areas covered by the Challenge, serving as inputs for the work to be done by teams. Some of the topics chosen are: energy audit; heating and cooling systems; systems for efficient production of electricity and / or thermal; behavioral factors; stewardship consumption; and surrounding buildings. These training sessions will be coordinated by invited experts of recognized merit in each of the different areas. Visit the website (http://www.greencampusportugal.info/) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com / GreenCampusPT) for the most important results of the Challenge, date and place of the information sessions, and additional current information. 
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