SOLIDWORKS and its Impact on Future Generations

SOLIDWORKS World 2017 kicked off day two with an exciting morning. This morning’s focus was raising awareness for the vast community of SOLIDWORKS User Groups (SWUGs) located all around the country. SWUGs enable users to get together to share tips, tricks, and educational presentations to strengthen and enhance their user experience.

Not only is it important to support and promote the education of SOLIDWORKS technology to current power users, but there is a determination to get high school students and young adults involved to craft their minds and brighten their future.

SOLIDWORKS is everywhere

Vice President of SOLIDWORKS Suchit Jain began the morning by showing us that SOLIDWORKS is everywhere and its presence is making a serious impact. Today over 222,000 certified SOLIDWORKS users have gained the knowledge and experience with SOLIDWORKS to begin start-up companies and grow their entrepreneur careers.

Greentown Labs is the largest clean technology incubator in the United States. They support 54 start-up companies that come to build prototypes with SOLIDWORKS to aide in solving the world’s energy and environment with clean technology.

Makerspaces and fab labs are also located around the world to guarantee that anyone and everyone is available to use SOLIDWORKS to work on projects and bring their inspirations to life. With the introduction to MySolidWorks, users can try a free demo without any need to download anytime anywhere to get a feel and understanding of the technology at their fingertips.

The power of education

Marie Planchard, Director of Education and Early Engagement, introduced the crowd to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math), a program at the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy. This program was formally known as STEM, but when they included Art in the name of their organization, they found that the enrollment of girls increased significantly. Founded by Amir Abo Shaeer, this academy enrolls over four hundred students a year, half of which are girls, to encourage the interest of engineering in the community.

With the use of SOLIDWORKS, these students are able to develop valuable skills to create designs and complete projects all the while gaining the knowledge to complete their Certified Exam by the end of their fourth year.

The power of the community

SOLIDWORKS World 2017 celebrated the ever-growing SOLIDWORKS User Group Network community by congratulating team leaders and expanding groups through North America. User groups bring users together to explore and educate on a wide range of subjects and best practices. With this knowledge, users are able to share tips and tricks to enhance performance and increase market production.

Robo Rumble

The second session concluded with a fun round of battlebots designed by an inspiring group of student teams who were ready to put their robots to the test. After three white-knuckle rounds, the champion trophy was awarded to Team Fast Electric Robots.

It was an inspirational morning watching today’s youth and our future manufacturers and engineers gathered together to share their accomplishments and get an insight of their journey and their futures.

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About the Author

Angelle Erickson writes about how companies are using innovative technologies, such as 3D printers and SOLIDWORKS software to increase productivity, improve product development processes, and maximize business potential.