The Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering
Education (PACE) announced an in-kind contribution with a
commercial value of approximately $240 million to the University
of British Columbia (UBC) today. The in-kind contribution,
which consists of computer-aided design, manufacturing, and
engineering software, hardware and training, is the largest
in UBC’s history. It is also the largest initial contribution
that PACE has made to a Canadian university.
PACE is a corporate alliance between General Motors, EDS
and Sun Microsystems that has worked together since 1999 to
support key academic institutions worldwide with computer-based
engineering tools to prepare mechanical designers, engineers
and analysts with the skills to compete in the future.
Michael Grimaldi, president of General Motors of Canada said,
"As a result of PACE’s contribution, UBC Faculty of Applied
Science undergraduate students will have the opportunity to
use state-of-the-art computer-aided engineering tools. PACE
partners are playing a key role in fostering innovation in
Canada by enabling students to work with world-class tools
and preparing them for future success as a designing engineer.
A highly skilled workforce will attract additional high tech
jobs and investment, improving the overall economic outlook
for Canada."
“UBC is joining a growing international community of
leading institutions participating in the PACE program,”
said Stéphane Boisvert, president of Sun Microsystems
of Canada. “In today’s global competitive marketplace,
it is essential that students have access to industry-leading
resources. The implementation of this computing infrastructure
in UBC’s classrooms is the foundation of future innovation.”
John Dowd, president of EDS Canada, said, "With this
PACE contribution, students at UBC will learn computer-aided
engineering concepts used in a broad range of industry sectors
through a unique combination of hardware, software and training.
Most important, students will gain hands-on experience applying
those concepts as they work on real-world industry projects."
"UGS PLM Solutions is providing Unigraphics software,
enabling students to gain experience using computer-based
design and analysis tools. Graduates from the University of
British Columbia will be able to ‘hit the ground running’
when working for future employers in any sector," said
Phil Taylor, president of UGS PLM Solutions Canada.
UBC has installed a new computing lab to incorporate the
contribution. The lab, which enables students to design, engineer
and validate products in a virtual world, opened earlier this
year.
Dr. Martha Piper, president of UBC said, "We are proud
to join the prestigious group of international institutions
participating in the PACE program. The leading-edge learning
tools will have a significant and lasting impact on engineering
education, and help to position UBC as a source of highly
qualified engineers. This in-kind contribution will expand
our research capabilities and give our students hands-on training
in the most advanced computer-aided design and engineering
methods available today."
"The PACE in-kind contribution to the Faculty of Applied
Science at UBC creates a world-class environment that will
allow our future engineers to develop the skills most needed
by industry," said Dr. Michael Isaacson, Dean of the
Faculty of Applied Science. "This represents an important
investment that will bring enormous benefits to the Faculty,
the University, and industry, but most especially to the students."
Shirley Bond, B.C. Minister of Advanced Education congratulated
both UBC and the PACE partners. “You have found an innovative
way to expand research capacity and new knowledge — which
benefits students, society and your organizations. Today’s
announcement shows what can happen when industry partners
with education to address a common need, something our government
strongly supports.”
To date, 26 academic institutions in Canada, the U.S., Mexico,
Europe and China have been selected to participate in the
PACE program. Twenty-four institutions, including UBC, have
formally been announced. The value of contributions to date
is close to $3 billion in total with almost $460 million donated
to institutions in Canada* (UBC, Dalhousie University, the
University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo, and Queen’s
University). Canadian universities involved may also further
leverage the PACE contribution through application to federal
and provincial matching fund programs.
*Note: all figures are in Canadian dollars
More information about GM of Canada can be found at: www.gmcanada.com.
More information about Sun Microsystems can be found at:
www.sun.com.
More information about EDS can be found at: www.eds.com.
Unigraphics is a registered trademark of EDS or its subsidiaries
in the United States and in other countries.
More information about UBC can be found at: www.ubc.ca.
More information about PACE can be found at: www.PACEpartners.org.
-30-
