Dassault Systèmes Launches a Foundation to Expand CAD/CAE Education

Foundation aims to bring 3D technology and simulation to the forefront of education and research.

Image courtesy of Dassault Systèmes.

Image courtesy of Dassault Systèmes.

A new organization called La Fondation Dassault Systèmes aims to bring 3D technology and simulation into the limelight of education and research.

The foundation will offer grants, digital content and training material to associations, cultural centers, museums, research institutions and schools within Europe.

“Europe has a rich technical and scientific heritage, and education and research that can build upon this hold the promise of a more sustainable future.  Companies also have a specific role to play within society and can help inspire people to come together and foster innovation for a better, more sustainable world,” said Bernard Charlès, President and CEO of Dassault Systèmes. 

The purpose of this educational content offering is to democratize CAD (computer aided design) and CAE (computer aided engineering), which have traditionally been limited to industry, engineering firms and manufacturing.

This is becoming an industry trend, where various CAE and CAD providers are offering free software and training to bring the technology into education. It gives these organizations the chance to grow their user base in the future.

Some examples of other organizations offering CAD and CAE software to educational institutions include:

The upside for these educational institutions is that access to CAD/CAE will also allow more education and research into technologies affecting us every day. Some of these technologies might include:

  • Big Data
  • Internet of things
  • 3D Printing
  • New materials
  • And more

With our rapidly growing technical knowledge, educating the future generations of engineers and designers with textbooks is becoming an archaic concept. By the time you have put words to print they are outdated.

However, teaching through virtual technologies that incorporate theory, experimentation and 3D design may become a more practical way to represent the real world. This educational “digital twin” of real world concepts can link reality to the digital using simulation, CAD and the internet of things to ensure the most up to date information is available.

“Social and environmental engagement has long been at the heart of Dassault Systèmes,” explained Charlès. “We believe in the unique capability of virtual universes to enable interaction with the world in new and exciting ways, and to nurture creative thinking, innovation, knowledge and progress for a better understanding of challenges and their solutions.  La Fondation Dassault Systèmes echoes our company’s purpose to provide business and people with 3DEXPERIENCE universes to imagine sustainable innovations capable of harmonizing product, nature and life.”  

What software do you want to learn in your education? Comment below.

Written by

Shawn Wasserman

For over 10 years, Shawn Wasserman has informed, inspired and engaged the engineering community through online content. As a senior writer at WTWH media, he produces branded content to help engineers streamline their operations via new tools, technologies and software. While a senior editor at Engineering.com, Shawn wrote stories about CAE, simulation, PLM, CAD, IoT, AI and more. During his time as the blog manager at Ansys, Shawn produced content featuring stories, tips, tricks and interesting use cases for CAE technologies. Shawn holds a master’s degree in Bioengineering from the University of Guelph and an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.