The Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation and Base 11 announced a workforce development initiative focused on training the next generation of engineers with the skills most in-demand by aerospace, high-tech and transportation industries.
With a grant from The Foundation, the initiative will provide students with training in collaborative 3-D engineering design platforms used by many large employers including Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Tesla, Honda, HP and IBM.
“We are thrilled by the grant from The Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation as it will accelerate our ability to empower our academic partners with the tools and resources they need to transform high-potential, low-resource students into 21st century STEM leaders,” said Landon Taylor, CEO of Base 11, a nonprofit STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workforce development and entrepreneur accelerator.
The initiative will be piloted this summer at the University of California, Irvine’s Samueli School of Engineering with community college students participating in the Base 11 summer fellowship program being the first to receive training on the collaborative 3-D design solutions.
“This workforce development initiative by Base 11 speaks to the huge demand for trained talent that we’re hearing from employers,” said Al Bunshaft, President, The Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation. “We are excited to support this innovative initiative that aims to create new educational content with the learning and discovery capabilities of 3D technology and virtual universes. This will offer a solution for employers, while simultaneously changing the lives of underserved students and their communities.”
The Autonomous Systems Engineering Academy was based on a highly successful freshman engineering course at the Samueli School of Engineering featuring hands-on, project-based learning. In 2015, Base 11 funded an adaptation of the course as an 8-week residency based summer program geared toward high-potential, low-resource community college students. The inaugural cohort of that program was recruited from across the country and completed the program at UCI in the summer of 2016.
The academy focuses around hands-on, interactive projects that encompass multiple engineering disciplines. Students learn the basics of aerospace design, computer aided design, 3-D printing, basic electronics and fabrication techniques through a series of mini projects. Each of those mini projects is a necessary component of the final capstone project, which is a fully operational unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone.
In the first phase of the initiative, funded by The Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation, the process of designing the drone will be enhanced by access to and training on 3-D design platforms used by engineers at major corporations.
Beginning January 2018, Base 11 will expand the ASEA curriculum into a full academic-year college credit-bearing engineering course at three community college campuses in Orange County, California, San Francisco and Phoenix including Orange Coast College, Skyline College and South Mountain Community College, with the potential to reach other markets in 2019.
“The partnership with Base 11 and the financial support of The Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation is helping us expand our reach into community colleges and high schools, advancing our mission to prepare future engineers for matriculation at UCI and on to successful STEM-based careers,” said Gregory Washington, Stacey Nicholas dean of engineering, Samueli School.
