Institutions Prepare Engineers of the Future to Tackle Distributed Real-World
Collaboration Challenges
NEEDHAM, Mass., June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Several engineering universities
have made commitments to participate in an unusual and ambitious Product
Lifecycle Management (PLM) research project that will be launched in the fall
by Georgia Institute of Technology and PTC (Nasdaq: PMTC), the product
development company(TM).
The project will prepare young engineers for the future by developing the
collaboration skills they will need to become leaders in product development
companies. The project will also create a research environment that will allow
universities to simulate and explore the potential of PLM, an emerging
business strategy that enables companies to achieve strong and sustainable
revenue growth by managing products throughout their entire life cycle.
Georgia Tech has dubbed the project an educational "Grand Experiment"
because it is the first effort to use technology to facilitate collaborative
design by so many engineering students at such a large number of institutions.
Universities that have already signed on to participate include Blekinge
Institute of Technology in Sweden, Des Moines Area Community College, Monroe
County Community College, Stevens Institute of Technology, University of
Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Maryland.
These universities will partner with an as-yet unnamed manufacturer to
provide mechanical engineering students with a complete understanding of PLM.
Teams of students will use Windchill ProjectLink, PTC's enterprise
collaboration solution, to help them work together from remote locations on a
large design project. This complex environment is typical of the product
development process in many industries today.
Over a two-year-period, the students will design and build a product from
start to finish. Engineers from the industry partner will provide the students
with real-world feedback on their activities. The partner will be announced at
a later date. Typically, student projects endure for several weeks or months,
and involve one or, at most, two universities.
To prepare for the project, in fall 2002, the George W. Woodruff School of
Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech installed PTC's ProjectLink to serve as
a virtual workspace for its own professors and students. In the spring
semester, Georgia Tech broadened the scope of its collaboration activities by
assigning its students to work with students at the University of Maryland to
design a mechanized hand-held screwdriver. This collaboration was also
supported by ProjectLink.
"The 'Grand Experiment' is one of the first-ever uses of enterprise
collaboration technology in an academic setting," said Georgia Tech Professor
Robert Fulton. "By introducing our students to product lifecycle management
integration systems such as that provided by PTC, we are preparing the
engineers of the future to play significant roles at the leading companies
that produce the world's best products."
About PTC
PTC (Nasdaq: PMTC) develops, markets, and supports software solutions that
help manufacturers win with superior products. PTC is the world's largest
software company with a total commitment to product development. The company
services more than 33,000 customers worldwide. Further information on PTC is
available at http://www.ptc.com.
Contact:
Tony Loftis
PTC Public Relations
781-782-5857
ptc@lpp.com
Margaret Pantridge
PTC Public Relations
781-370-5079
mpantridge@ptc.com
SOURCE PTC
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Related links:
http://www.ptc.com
CONTACT:
Tony Loftis, +1-781-782-5857, ptc@lpp.com; or
Margaret Pantridge, +1-781-370-5079, mpantridge@ptc.com, both of
PTC Public Relations
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