Autodesk Announces Mechanical Engineering Design (MED) competition Winners at WorldSkills Calgary 2009

SAN FRANCISCO- Autodesk, Inc has announced the winners of the Mechanical Engineering Design (MED) competition at WorldSkills Calgary 2009. The 40th annual WorldSkills competition hosted more than 900 participants, ages 17-22, striving for worldwide recognition of excellence in their respective fields. During the four days of competition, the students put their creativity and passion into action through design, by tackling real-world design problems using the latest industry software.

The winners were selected by a panel of 22 experts from around the world. The medal winners of the competition include:

* Gold: Fernando Luiz, Brazil
* Silver: Andre Reusser, Switzerland
* Bronze: Ricardo Nogueira, Portugal
* Bronze: Bob Kramer, Netherlands

Autodesk partnered with WorldSkills Calgary 2009 as a Platinum Sponsor of the event and the Presenting Sponsor of the MED competition. As part of its sponsorship, Autodesk provided Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Maya and AutoCAD software for use in multiple skills contests by the competitors and event organizers. Autodesk Inventor was the exclusive software used by all competitors in the MED competition. The software was donated to secondary schools across Canada following the event.

"It was astonishing to watch students demonstrate their talent at WorldSkills Calgary 2009," said Joe Astroth, PhD, Autodesk vice president, Learning and Education. "As a sponsor of this educational event, Autodesk is dedicated to preparing the next generation of designers as they gain the technical expertise they need to be successful in the global workplace."

Each of the MED medal winners received a bike from Marin Bikes, a leading manufacturer of mountain bikes based in Marin County, California. Marin Bikes uses Autodesk Inventor software to streamline its product development process and create new products in less time with digital prototyping, much like the students' projects at WorldSkills International.

Autodesk supports a range of partnerships and sponsorships with education organizations such as WorldSkills. Autodesk also hosts the Autodesk Education Community where students and teachers can download - for free* - the full 2010 releases of 25 Autodesk titles, access training materials, search for internships and jobs and share designs with their peers. Since its launch in 2006, the Education Community has grown to more than 775,000 members, representing over 19,000 schools in 139 countries.