New Offerings Provide Tools to Help Prepare Students for Successful Design Careers

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced that it will offer five new industry-oriented software suites to help students learn core design and engineering skills. The suites contain extensive 2D and 3D Autodesk software used by professionals worldwide. The new bundled packages encourage a multidisciplinary educational approach, enabling faculty to teach key concepts to prepare students for rewarding architecture, engineering and design careers. These suites, to be offered globally, will be available in English as well as more than 10 other languages.

"Around the world, there is a tremendous need for engineering and design professionals with relevant education and technology skills to address current and future challenges," said Joe Astroth, Ph.D., Autodesk vice president of Learning and Education. "Our new software suites and curricula will help meet that need. By offering our customers more purchasing options, along with enhanced 2010 versions of many of our award-winning products, we aim to make faculty and students even more successful."

Solutions for Postsecondary Academic Institutions:

    --  Autodesk Education Suite for Architecture and Engineering 2010
    --  Autodesk Education Suite for Civil and Structural Engineering 2010
    --  Autodesk Education Suite for Mechanical Engineering 2010
    --  Autodesk Education Suite for Industrial Design 2010
    --  Autodesk Education Master Suite 2010 (includes all products in the other
        suites)

The suites include the 2010 versions of 18 industry-leading Autodesk products, offering new features and functionality to help aspiring design professionals worldwide improve their competitive advantage. More information is available at the Education Product Center at www.autodesk.com/education.

The suites are supported by nine curricula that promote teaching concepts. Curricula include professionally developed lecture notes, student workbooks, challenging projects and other valuable tools to help instructors teach crucial skills. Among the new curricula are Sustainable Design Education Curriculum, a series of lessons that explore the methods and tools to better prepare students for the integrated practice of sustainable design; Autodesk Revit Architecture BIM ( Building Information Modeling) Curriculum, a series of project-based lesson plans designed to support classroom teaching and promote student understanding of BIM; AutoCAD Civil 3D BIM Curriculum, to give students the tools to compete and succeed in civil engineering careers; and AutoCAD Inventor Curriculum, featuring 3D mechanical design from sketching, modeling and documentation to analysis and visualization. All curricula are available at the Student Engineering and Design Community, an online resource for students and educators.

Solutions for Secondary Schools,

In addition to the postsecondary offerings, Autodesk will offer two suites to inspire secondary school students to see the dynamic connection between science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Autodesk Design Academy 2010 includes 2D and 3D software and learning tools to help students prepare for future academic degrees and careers in architecture, engineering and design. Among its curricula are Design Basics Curriculum, which introduces students to foundational design knowledge; Pre-Architecture Curriculum, illustrating the architectural design process through real-world projects; Robotics Curriculum, a fun, interactive way to learn engineering; and Science and Math Curriculum, which helps students connect with technology using mathematic and scientific principles to solve problems. The curricula will be available online at the Student Engineering and Design Community.

Autodesk continues to offer Autodesk Animation Academy, a modular suite that introduces students to 3D visualization, animation and visual effects technology.

Purchasing and Availability

English language versions of the new industry-oriented suites are scheduled to begin shipping in June, and will be offered in other languages during the summer. Generally, licenses for each suite will be available in volume discount packages, ranging from small class packages to large school packages, depending on the customer's geographic region.

Individual Product Offerings

In addition to the new suites, licenses of many 2010 products are available individually for classroom use to give faculty greater purchasing flexibility. For those students who choose to benefit from product ownership, licenses of a limited number of individual products are available for purchase.

For additional information about Autodesk's 2010 education offerings, please visit www.autodesk.com/education.

Student Engineering and Design Community

Students and faculty can download the 2010 releases of 25 leading Autodesk products for free* on the Student Engineering and Design Community. The company has added three new offerings, including its flagship product, AutoCAD 2010, as well as AutoCAD Structural Detailing 2010 and AutoCAD P&ID 2010. Students also can download many learning resources, search for internships and jobs, showcase their designs and discuss design topics with their peers. In addition, educators can download curricula and exchange best practices. Since its launch in 2006, the community has expanded to more than 600,000 members representing more than 19,000 schools in 139 countries.

Autodesk Education Initiatives

Autodesk supports students and educators by providing design software, innovative programs and other resources designed to inspire the next generation of professionals. By supporting educators to advance design education and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, Autodesk is helping prepare students for future academic and career success. Autodesk supports schools and institutions of higher learning worldwide through substantial discounts, subscriptions, grant programs, training, curricula development and community resources. For more information about Autodesk education programs and solutions, visit autodesk.com/education.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

*Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies download of the software.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Civil 3D, Inventor, Revit and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

(C) 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Contact:
    Angela Simoes
    415-302-2934
    angela.simoes@autodesk.com

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO)

Web site: http://www.autodesk.com/