Autodesk DesignKids includes a product bundle of AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor Professional, as well as a project-based curriculum, designed specifically for primary schools to support academic performance. The company also offers several fully functioning Autodesk products free to any student who can provide a '.edu' e-mail address for validation purposes, or can have an instructor register for his or her educational institution, said Mailhot.ĭesignKids. In the approximately two years that Mailhot has been in this position, he has done some very good work building the content and direction of Autodesk's education programs and products, and that's where we began our discussion.Īutodesk, like most CAD companies, offers bundles of products for different market segments, such as architecture, mechanical, and industrial design, applicable to different educational levels, from K-12 through higher education. To get Autodesk's perspective on STEM education, I spoke with Paul Mailhot, senior director of worldwide education programs. I kick off this series with Autodesk, which offers a variety of programs that aim to support science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, while at the same time building a potential future customer base. To give you an idea of what's happening, I plan to contact several CAD companies to better understand their perspectives and plans related to education.

As it turns out, it's quite a lot, and I'm very encouraged to see this commitment to the future of our industry. In the meantime, I've also become increasingly interested in what the MCAD community is doing to support educational institutions.

We've all heard how the United States lags behind other nations, such as China and India, in math, engineering, and other technical pursuits, and it feels good to do my small part to reverse the trend - and watch eyes light up and light bulbs go off in the process. The job has proved to be challenging on one hand, but extremely rewarding on the other.

So much so, in fact, that I became a volunteer tutor/mentor at the local high school in the rural town where I live. I've been a proponent of technical education - math, science, and technology - for a long time. Promoting Education, Part 1: Autodesk 16 Apr, 2008 By: Jeffrey Rowe Like many CAD companies, Autodesk stands behind education, offering a variety of programs and products for future engineers.

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