INDUSTRY

Twenty-four government polytechnic institutes in India will use SolidWorks 3D mechanical design software to prepare aspiring engineers for high-paying, skilled jobs in the competitive Indian economy, SolidWorks Corporation announced today. The Directorate of Technical Education in the west central Indian state of Maharashtra has purchased 250 licenses of SolidWorks Education Edition under a SolidWorks Corporation initiative to extend affordable, high-quality technical education to middle-income students who cannot afford universities. The polytechnic institutes will use SolidWorks to train students as well as adult learners in 3D mechanical design. Until now, India's polytechnic institutes haven't been equipped with 3D mechanical design software. Students were forced to enter the job market without 3D skills or pay exorbitant fees to private trainers. "Exposure to SolidWorks will benefit our students enormously due to the huge demand for skilled workers in India, including widespread demand for conversion of legacy 2D drawings to 3D solid models," said Ms. A. C. Attar, training and placement officer for the Directorate of Technical Education. "Gone are the days when knowing 2D drafting was sufficient to get a good job. Fortunately, SolidWorks software's intuitive environment shortens the 3D learning curve so that students can focus more on mechanical design theory than the intricacies of the software." The directorate selected SolidWorks Education Edition software over other 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software for use in the polytechnic institutes' mechanical, production, automobile, and industrial engineering curricula. SolidWorks Education Edition software includes SolidWorks mechanical design software, PhotoWorks, SolidWorks Toolbox, SolidWorks Animator, eDrawings Professional, FeatureWorks, SolidWorks Utilities, 3D Instant Website, and these analysis tools: COSMOSWorks, COSMOSMotion, and COSMOSFloWorks. "3D mechanical design is one of the most rapidly emerging professions in India with heavy demand for a highly skilled workforce among leading manufacturers," said Rosanne Kramer, director of worldwide education markets for SolidWorks Corporation. "At the same time, SolidWorks has identified education as one of its most important priorities for reasons of both business and citizenship. As a result, we will continue to invest in education and launch new initiatives that give students access to our world-class software and easy-to-learn technology. As part of that, SolidWorks is working closely with the Directorate of Technical Education to bring new career opportunities to polytechnic institute students in other Indian states."