Autodesk Makes Design Software Free to Schools Worldwide

AutoDesk, thefirm behind 3D softwares such as AutoCAD, has announced it will give its professional design software freely to schools and colleges to be used by students, instructors and academic institutions worldwide.

Through this action, more than 680 million students and educators from over 800,000 secondary and post-secondary schools in 188 countries can take advantage of free access to Autodesk’s professional software and services for use in classrooms, labs, and at home.

“The way we make things is changing rapidly, and we need a workforce ready to design for new manufacturing and construction techniques. By providing free professional design tools to students, faculty members and academic institutions around the world, we’re helping get industry ready for the next phase,” said Carl Bass, CEO, Autodesk.

AutoDesk earlier announced the move earlier but was limited to the US alone as part of President Obama’s ConnectED initiative.  This move will see students globally, as young as 13 years old leveraging Fusion 360 to conceptualize and 3D print prosthetic devices, to college teams developing environmentally sustainable homes using BIM 360 Glue, young talent are pushing the boundaries of design and innovation both inside and outside of the classroom using the same design software used by professionals every day.

Autodesk’s pledge to provide schools, students and teachers with free access to its professional 3D design software will enable educators to introduce the students to the softwares early and this might also influence the softwares companies buy when they hire this students in future hence protecting a market for itself.