Initiative Will Prepare College Students with In-demand Skills Including Collaborative 3-D Design

IRVINE, Calif. & WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation and Base 11 today announced a workforce development initiative focused on training the next generation of engineers with the skills most in-demand by aerospace, high-tech and transportation industries.

With a grant from The Foundation, the initiative will provide students with training in collaborative 3-D engineering design platforms used by many large employers including Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Tesla, Honda, HP and IBM.

"We are thrilled by the grant from The Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation as it will accelerate our ability to empower our academic partners with the tools and resources they need to transform high-potential, low-resource students into 21st century STEM leaders," said Landon Taylor, CEO of Base 11, a nonprofit STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workforce development and entrepreneur accelerator.

The initiative will be piloted this summer at the University of California, Irvines Samueli School of Engineering with community college students participating in the Base 11 summer fellowship program being the first to receive training on the collaborative 3-D design solutions.

"This workforce development initiative by Base 11 speaks to the huge demand for trained talent that were hearing from employers," said Al Bunshaft, President, The Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation. "We are excited to support this innovative initiative that aims to create new educational content with the learning and discovery capabilities of 3D technology and virtual universes. This will offer a solution for employers, while simultaneously changing the lives of underserved students and their communities."

The Autonomous Systems Engineering Academy was based on a highly successful freshman engineering course at the Samueli School of Engineering featuring hands-on, project-based learning. In 2015, Base 11 funded an adaptation of the course as an 8-week residency based summer program geared toward high-potential, low-resource community college students. The inaugural cohort of that program was recruited from across the country and completed the program at UCI in the summer of 2016. (See video here.)

The academy focuses around hands-on, interactive projects that encompass multiple engineering disciplines. Students learn the basics of aerospace design, computer aided design, 3-D printing, basic electronics and fabrication techniques through a series of mini projects. Each of those mini projects is a necessary component of the final capstone project, which is a fully operational unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone.

In the first phase of the initiative, funded by The Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation, the process of designing the drone will be enhanced by access to and training on 3-D design platforms used by engineers at major corporations.

Beginning January 2018, Base 11 will expand the ASEA curriculum into a full academic-year college credit-bearing engineering course at three community college campuses in Orange County, California, San Francisco and Phoenix including Orange Coast College, Skyline College and South Mountain Community College, with the potential to reach other markets in 2019.

"The partnership with Base 11 and the financial support of The Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation is helping us expand our reach into community colleges and high schools, advancing our mission to prepare future engineers for matriculation at UCI and on to successful STEM-based careers," said Gregory Washington, Stacey Nicholas dean of engineering, Samueli School.

About Base 11
Base 11 is a nonprofit workforce development accelerator focused on solving the STEM talent pipeline crisis being fueled by the underrepresentation of women and minorities. Base 11 facilitates partnerships with industry, academia and philanthropy which deliver to employers a pre-recruitment pipeline of well-trained, highly skilled STEM talent. By establishing Innovation Centers integrated with hands-on project based learning and STEM entrepreneurship training, Base 11 and its partners set students on direct pathways to four-year STEM degrees, well paid STEM jobs, and the opportunity to launch their own STEM related business.
For more information, please visit www.Base11.com. Base 11 is a DBA of the Center for Innovations in Education, a nonprofit 501(c) 3 - IRS exemption EIN# 26-4365936.

About La Fondation Dassault Systèmes
La Fondation Dassault Systèmes provides training and expertise about 3D virtual universe technologies to help schools, universities, research centers, museums and associations in Europe and the U.S. to push the limits of knowledge. Its mission is to inspire men and women with a passion for engineering, science and digital technology to create a better and more collaborative society. As part of this mission, it actively contributes to inventing new ways of sharing know-how and transforming learning practices that make it possible to detect new talents and help them achieve their dreams. For more information: lafondation.3ds.com