800+ seats of Industry-Leading DELMIA & CATIA

Software Now Available to Students

Auburn Hills, Mich., USA, March 4, 2009 – Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that it provided an additional 400 seats of its PLM software to Oakland Schools through an academic partnership program.

This relationship with the intermediate school district, which began in 2002, provided Oakland County’s 28 school districts access to CATIA, the world’s leading virtual product design solution, as well as its digital manufacturing software counterpart DELMIA. Instructors at each of the 23 facilities taking advantage of the program have been trained and mentored in the software.

“The goal of this program is to fill the gap between education and industry by exposing students to the same high-tech tools employed by the leading aerospace, medical, consumer product, and automotive companies of the world,” says Bill Williams, Oakland Schools’ Career Focused Education consultant.  “For example, more than 80% of new vehicles launched today are designed in CATIA, making training in this software a must for any would-be automotive engineer. We encourage every high school to take advantage of this offering and make 3D virtual design and digital manufacturing courses available to all of their students.”

Williams notes that manufacturing offers excellent career opportunities with typical wages and benefits being about 25 percent higher than other occupations. The other benefit is the anticipated growth in the application of digital manufacturing. “However,” he added, “no matter what field students choose to study, at some point in their career almost everyone will need to be familiar with 3D modeling software. Engineers, doctors, fashion designers, packaging engineers, architects – all these career paths rely upon sophisticated computer programs to create their products and plan their processes.” 

“We commend Mr. Williams and Oakland Schools for their efforts in this area,” says Roy Smolky, DELMIA Worldwide Academic Relations, Dassault Systèmes.  “We believe programs like this are vital in helping not only Oakland County, but the U.S. in maintaining its role as the world’s technology leader.”

The Dassault Systèmes solutions made available through Oakland Schools educate students in virtual product development where all product design and manufacturing processes are created, simulated and optimized in a virtual 3D environment on the computer, prior to anything being built in the real world. The competitive state of today’s business environment demands ultimate efficiency from all business processes. Companies using these technologies have shortened development cycles and reduced production errors by over 50%, in addition to realizing many other benefits. 

Of all U.S. exports, according to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), each $1.00 of manufactured goods generates $1.37 worth of additional economic activity.  Manufacturing is also responsible for more than 70 percent of private sector research and development including being a center of alternative energy research.  It also contributes more than 60 percent of U.S. exports or about $50 billion a month.

“We know from experience that students who are trained in these sophisticated tools are better prepared to enter university level programs, as well as the workforce,” adds Dr. Vickie L. Markavitch, superintendent, Oakland Schools. “It’s crucial that we tap students’ interest early on, encouraging them to acquire appropriate skill sets and pursue available careers in science and manufacturing.”

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About Oakland Schools

Oakland Schools is one of Michigan’s 57 intermediate school districts and serves as a regional service agency for Oakland County’s 28 public school districts, public school academies and private schools. Oakland Schools seeks to increase student achievement, serve the diverse needs of schools and decrease costs while increasing efficiencies for the schools attended by close to 230,000 students.  For more information on Oakland Schools Career Focus Education, go to www.oakland.k12.mi.us or contact Dr. Bill Williams at 248-209-2105. 

About Dassault Systèmes

As a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, Dassault Systèmes brings value to more than 100,000 customers in 80 countries. A pioneer in the 3D software market since 1981, Dassault Systèmes develops and markets PLM application software and services that support industrial processes and provide a 3D vision of the entire lifecycle of products from conception to maintenance to recycling. The Dassault Systèmes portfolio consists of CATIA for designing the virtual product - SolidWorks for 3D mechanical design - DELMIA for virtual production - SIMULIA for virtual testing - ENOVIA for global collaborative lifecycle management, and 3DVIA for online 3D lifelike experiences.  Dassault Systèmes’ shares are listed on Euronext Paris (#13065, DSY.PA) and Dassault Systèmes’ ADRs may be traded on the US Over-The-Counter (OTC) market (DASTY). For more information, visit http://www.3ds.com.

CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA, SolidWorks and 3D VIA are registered trademarks of Dassault Systèmes or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries.