Autodesk Partners with China's Ministry of Education to Support Engineering Education

BEIJING - The People’s Republic of China Ministry of Education (MOE) and Autodesk, Inc signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Beijing, China, to support engineering education and innovation. According to the MOU, both parties will seek to improve standards of engineering education in China and promote the next generation of design talent and innovation in China.

Cooperation between China’s MOE and Autodesk covers two major stages of higher education and secondary vocational education across manufacturing, construction and urban planning, geographic information system and visual arts. Both parties will collaborate on the reform of engineering education, innovation education and design education; cultivation of innovative engineering talent and technical engineering talent; and exchange of best practices in engineering education.

“We see this agreement as a significant step forward in furthering our partnership with the Ministry of Education, focused on driving the adoption of industry-leading design tools into engineering curricula throughout China,” said Carl Bass, president and CEO of Autodesk. “The joint effort between Autodesk and the Ministry of Education will focus both on the training of faculty as well as encouraging widespread use of the Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya software by students. We believe the results of this collaboration will serve to inspire groundbreaking design in areas such as sustainable manufacturing among China’s next generation of engineers.”

Autodesk also announced plans to donate software worth US$50 million to 50 higher education institutions and secondary vocational schools throughout China.

“Engineering is a powerful tool in promoting economic development and social progressiveness, and also the key to achieving China’s goal of an ‘Innovation-Oriented State’,” said Chen Xi, deputy minister for education. “Our higher and secondary vocational schools should keep abreast of the times to absorb internationally recognized philosophies, technologies and experience in the engineering field. This will ultimately foster integration of industries, schools and research and develop the field of engineering education, thereby producing and delivering large cohorts of globally competitive engineering talent to the industries.”

To date, Autodesk has jointly set up more than 10 Centers of Excellence and design centers with several universities throughout China. Beyond this, the MOE also supports the Autodesk Chinese Student Design Community, which provides a platform for the teachers and students to interact and learn. Overall, Autodesk has invested more than 520 million yuan in China’s education sector, and received an honorary “Prominent Contribution Award” by the Chinese MOE earlier this year.