Autodesk Design Academy Puts Education First
At this time last year, in this same column, I interviewed Don Carlson, Director of Autodesk Education. Since that time the expansion of Autodesk offerings to the educational arena has progressed. I returned to their team and interviewed Jaime Perkins, Senior Manager, Learning Content for Autodesk Education.
Mark: Jaime, thanks for taking some time with me. Last year we discussed the new offerings and I wanted to give our readers an update. For those who might not know, what is Autodesk Education?
Jaime: Technology is changing how people design and make things and Autodesk is creating the next generation of tools for the next generation of designers and engineers. Last year we announced free access to our 3D design software and creativity applications to schools, educators, and students around the globe, yet we don’t just see our role in education as providers of software. We are helping to open doors for young talent, passionate educators, and academic institutions to connect to the tools, influencers, and opportunities to advance their skills, better their communities, and advance our industries.
Mark: What’s new in the last year? What offerings are you providing for students, educators, and educational institutions?
Jaime: As an extension of our free software offering, in May we launched the Autodesk Design Academy for students and educators. The Design Academy helps students and educators unlock their creativity by granting free access to projects and courses that introduce students to new technologies and practices in 3D design. Each Design Academy project asks students to use design thinking and software skills to make innovative designs that have an impact on people’s lives.
This June, we also made Design Academy available in iTunes U, the world’s largest catalog of free education content. The Apple iTunes U platform is completely mobile across the iOS ecosystem, which supports a varied and diverse set of use scenarios to address online, hybrid, blended, and flip classroom models, as well as the diversity we see in teaching methods, devices, and environments in many countries.
Mark: You mentioned the announcement of free access to academic licenses. What software can a student tap into?
Jaime: Autodesk offers free access to all our software for students, educators, and educational institutions worldwide. Providing the next generation with tools and resources they can use for academic and career success supports Autodesk’s vision to help people imagine, design, and create a better world. Providing free access to software helps strengthen design and engineering-related disciplines and helps students learn skills they will use in industry. We love seeing students use their talents to win design challenges, help the community, and ultimately land their dream job, and we are committed to helping them on this journey.
Mark: After reviewing last year’s comments I came across this quote from Don… “Putting real-world tools into the hands of next gen talent so they can solve real-world design problems.” Can you give us some examples of how students have used your tools?
Jaime: On Design Academy we have a Portfolios section where students can post their 3D design work, share the process they used in creating their designs, and follow their peers. We also launched a program called Design for Autodesk, where students create models in Fusion 360 and post them to the Fusion 360 gallery. To date, thousands of Fusion models have been submitted by students in the US and select European countries as part of the program. Students have created designs such as food processors, ejection seats, and prosthetic arms. On Design Academy we also publish success stories with examples of how students have used our software.
Mark: What do you have that might help educators with the learning process for their students?
Jaime: Design Academy has more than 100 projects and courses that cover a wide range of industry fields using a variety of Autodesk software. Every piece of curriculum is structured around project-based learning to teach students to use design thinking to solve real world challenges. All content is aligned to academic standards, authored by educators and designers, and comes with an instructor manual, student manual, datasets, and software tutorials to give educators everything they need to teach 3D design.
By teaching students skills like 3D modeling and 3D animation using professional Autodesk products, we are giving both students and educators a real advantage, creating a generation that’s both college- and career-ready.
Mark: Thanks for your time, Jaime. Our readers in the education field and those who come in contact with students can help by pointing others to your Community and your offerings. Design Academy has almost 12,000 members and growing. It has curriculum, portfolios, product how-to videos, and an inspiration section. We appreciate your efforts to help students and teachers launch into design.
