Irish Department of Education purchases 25,000 licenses of SolidWorks software

The Irish Department of Education and Science has purchased 25,000 licenses of SolidWorks 3D CAD Education Edition software in order to expand technology education in second level schools and grow the pool of skilled local engineers. Students between 12- and 18-years old in 550 schools will learn SolidWorks in four technology subjects.

SolidWorks Corporation (www.solidworks.com) says this announcement underscores Europe’s rapidly increasing adoption of SolidWorks software as an effective tool for teaching students the design and engineering skills they’ll use in professional careers. SolidWorks Education Edition is the standard for teaching students CAD fundamentals in Norway, Northern Ireland and France and has been deployed in major school districts in Germany and Spain.

“The use of SolidWorks represents a very significant advance in the provision of information and communications technology (ICT) in Irish schools and will ensure that students of technology subjects and their teachers have access to resources and facilities on a par with any world-leading education systems,” said ICT national coordinator Paddy Keays. “SolidWorks has a fast learning curve, and that’s very important when teaching CAD skills and design and engineering concepts to 12- to 18-year-old students. Our students will have the freedom to design projects and easily change and manipulate their models to investigate ‘what if’ scenarios which will prepare them for the fast-changing technological society. It will also allow us to use the software to communicate previously abstract concepts.”