CREDIT: MELISSA NOVACASKA
From left to right: Dave Machacek, chair of Fanshawe's School of Applied Science and Technology, Brian Mori, president and CEO of Siemens Industry Software Canada, Fanshawe president Peter Devlin, Aaron Guo, president London of Longterm Technology Services Inc. and Brianne Murphy, marketing and media specialist from Longterm Technology Services Inc.

On Jan. 25, Fanshawe engineering students gained a new opportunity for success with an in-kind grant from Siemens Canada, worth a commercial value over $248 million.

According to a Fanshawe communications press release, Siemens PLM Software is a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services for a wide variety of industries including automotive, aerospace, machinery, medical devices, shipbuilding and electronics.

With this grant and technology that will be used for course work, research and other academic studies, students will develop advanced skills required by more than 77,000 global customers who already use Siemens in their daily work, the release said. This includes 29 of the world’s top 30 automakers.

According to Fanshawe president Peter Devlin, the Siemens PLM industry standard software grant and academic partnership also includes the help of Long Term Technology Services Inc.

“Thanks to the new collaboration, Fanshawe students [in the School of Applied Science and Technology] will have access to the same industry standard software in their classroom that businesses around the world are using to design today’s most sophisticated products,” Devlin said.

Working with Siemens for open solutions and to churn ideas into successful products, Devlin said this “exciting” academic relationship is amazing for students and will help unlock potential and new grads with rewarding careers.

“This remarkable Siemens investment means we will train our engineering students for tomorrow’s jobs, today,” Devlin said. “In a dynamic world of increasing internationalization, we will keep pace using exceptional engineering software.”

This partnership also helps ring in Fanshawe’s 50th anniversary and Canada’s 150th as well.

According to the press release, the grant will also include NX™ software, a leading integrated solution for computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering, from Siemens’ PLM Software business.

“Siemens understands that the skills needed for the future of manufacturing are very different from what we have needed in the past,” said Robert Hardt, President and CEO, Siemens Canada. “We are dedicated to empowering the next generation of digital talent by providing students with the advanced technology necessary to become the leading engineers of the digital future.”

According to the release, Dave Machacek, chair of Fanshawe’s School of Applied Science and Technology, is looking forward to working with a global corporation that is on the leading edge of PLM technology.

“This partnership enables us to meet the needs of employers, while preparing our students for a variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) related careers,” Machacek said. “Our students will gain real-world experience during their studies by using the same technology in the classroom that is used by companies worldwide.”

Brian Mori, president and CEO of Siemens Industry Software Canada, said the company is one of the world’s largest and versified engineering companies with sectors in industry, engineering, infrastructure, health care and focusing on electrification, automation and digitalization.

Mori even joked that the amount of the grant would be the equivalent of a lot of beer.

“Siemens and Fanshawe College share a vison to promote educational opportunities for students while ensuring that Siemens and other high tech leaders have access to a highly, highly skilled workforce,” Mori said.

Mori acknowledged that Fanshawe is a global institute with cultural diversity.

According to Mori, the partnership is good for today’s students for a number of reasons.

“It’s important to put leading edge tools in the hands of students and challenging them to be the best that they can be and to educate themselves so that when they graduate, they can go into business and be immediate contributors to companies that hire them. I’m sure when you challenge the young people today, that a lot of great things happen, and they often surprise you with their innovation and their creativity.”