A multi-company effort to help university students understand the need for global collaboration is being recognized with the highest honor by the Corporate Membership Council of the American Society for Engineering Education.
The group awarded the PACE Global Collaborative Project Competition Initiative with the 2013 Excellence in Engineering Collaboration Award. PACE is a partnership between General Motors, Siemens PLM Software, Autodesk, Hewlett Packard and Oracle. Through its five partner companies and 17 contributor companies, PACE has provided more than $11 billion in software, hardware, training and IT consulting services and grants to 62 schools since 1999.
“PACE is a best practice in engineering education collaboration for both academia and industry,” said Bill Boswell, senior director of Partner Strategy, Siemens PLM Software. “This recognition emphasizes how important it is for students to go beyond textbooks and labs and design and engineer real-world products in advanced PLM technology.”
The 2012 competition focused on the future of sustainable urban transportation. More than 300 students, faculty and company representatives engage in the competition each year.
“With the automotive industry constantly evolving, we are always looking for opportunities to foster the education of students pursuing degrees or careers in science, technology, engineering and math-related (STEM) fields,” said John Calabrese, General Motors vice president, Global Vehicle Engineering. “In order to continue creating the best vehicles for our customers’ global needs, we need to develop the next generation of leaders in this space and learn from their innovative solutions,” said Calabrese, who chairs the PACE Executive Sponsor Council.
The award recognizes Corporate Membership Council members that demonstrate collaboration with colleges and universities to impact engineering education and heighten the interest of young people in engineering.
The PACE Global Project provides opportunity for university students to expand and develop their professional skills by participating in multi-university/multi-cultural teams, using PACE state-of-the-art design, engineering, manufacturing and collaboration software, and applying product lifecycle management tools and concepts.
“The PACE Global Collaborative Project Competition Initiative offers us the chance to keep these students passionate and engaged solving real-world issues,” Calabrese said.
