COUNCIL BLUFFS - Siemens PLM Software and Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) today announced the largest in-kind corporate contribution ever received by the college. The in-kind software grant from Siemens PLM Software, with a commercial value of $65.2 million, was presented today at a recognition ceremony held at the college in the presence of Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad.
“We are grateful to Siemens PLM Software for its commitment to advance educational opportunities for our students in Iowa,” said Gov. Branstad. “Today’s grant announcement is exceptionally valuable because it helps us train our students for tomorrow’s jobs on one of the best engineering design software available.”
The in-kind software grant, made through Siemens PLM Software’s GO PLM™ initiative, which includes training and specialized software certification programs, will enable IWCC to begin a design technology program to help meet the growing demand for a well trained, well qualified workforce. The design technology program will prepare graduates to enter the workforce in a high-demand career field or transfer to a four-year institution to complete a bachelor’s degree.
This unique, first-of-its-kind program brings together industry and academia to define program requirements that will help meet the needs of the marketplace. IWCC created an industry advisory board which, in addition to Siemens PLM Software, includes management team members from a variety of global manufacturers that call Iowa and Nebraska home, including Rockwell Collins, Inc. The input received from the industry advisory board was used by IWCC in conjunction with representatives of Iowa’s regent institutions to create a curriculum to provide advanced hands-on training that will help enable students to effectively enter the workforce following graduation. The new program will be offered at Cass County Center in Atlantic, Iowa, following renovations.
“The design technology program being developed by Iowa Western Community College is important to industry because of the emerging importance of PLM in managing the overall design process from concept, to manufacture, to product support, to product retirement,” said Dale Wulf, Manager, Mechanical Design Support, Rockwell Collins, Inc. “This is becoming a critical skill as products increase in complexity and design cycles continue to compress. With the implementation of this program by IWCC, employers will have another resource to draw qualified employees, who are familiar with PLM to fill a potential skill gap, which is projected to be increasing with the pending retirement of the baby boom generation.”
“Iowa Western is pleased to be able to partner with a global corporation that is on the leading edge of technology deployment and utilization,” said Iowa Western President Dr. Dan Kinney. “The college could not initiate this program of studies without the support of this state-of-the-art technology from Siemens PLM Software. This partnership will enable the college to meet the needs of employers and prepare students for these significant high-paying careers in design technology.”
“Siemens PLM Software provides Iowa Western access to PLM technology, which otherwise would be out of reach for the academic community, giving students a distinct advantage by being able to use the same PLM technology widely-used by leading multi-national manufacturing companies around the globe,” said Dan Malliet, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Siemens PLM Software. “The experience gained in the use of these tools better prepares students for today’s highly-competitive manufacturing jobs requiring full knowledge of modern technologies and tools.”
The new software, which will be incorporated into the curricula, will introduce students to product design and development technology used by many of the world’s leading manufacturing, architectural and construction companies. The coursework will help prepare students to develop technical drawings and plans to build everything from microchips to skyscrapers.
The range of software includes Siemens PLM Software’s Teamcenter® software, the world’s most widely used digital lifecycle management solution; NX™ software, a comprehensive digital product development solution; and Solid Edge® software, the core CAD component of the Velocity Series™ portfolio, a comprehensive family of solutions addressing PLM needs of the mid-market.
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