Motivating Indian students to innovate, launch startups: Dassault Systemes

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

 

Dassault Systèmes, a multinational software company that specializes in 3D design and product lifecycle management (PLM) software, is motivating Indian students and youth to create the next big innovations for the world.

Suchit Jain, VP of Strategy and Business Development at Dassault Systemes, said that the goal is to motivate students and youth in the country to create the next big innovations for the world. Jain holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from IIT-Bombay and a master’s degree in structural mechanics from the University of Southern California, said that the company has been collaborating with startups since its inception, 25 years ago.

“We invested a lot in this education and we continued to do so because it forms a virtuous cycle where the students would come out and be motivated to create the next innovations of the world,” Jain said on the sidelines of the a3D Experience World 2023, a gathering for users of Dassault Systèmes 3DExperience Works, including Solidworks. The three-day event included discussions, announcements, and workshops. Building on the legacy of Solidworks World, 3DExperience World 2023, which concluded on February 15, was an opportunity for designers, engineers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to learn, innovate, and collaborate. It offered innovative tools and technologies for the world of design.

At the event, the 3DExperience major Dassault Systemes’ SolidWorks, that boasts of a huge portfolio of 3D design and engineering applications, announced that it will add free Cloud solutions for users this year. According to Gian Paolo Bassi, Senior Vice President, 3DExperience Works, the free inclusion of 3DExperience cloud solutions for all Solidworks seats will be applicable from July 1. The announcement at the company’s flagship ‘3DExperience World 2023’ event in Nashville will give 3DExperience users the ability to share and mark up a model for 3D view, in any browser, with no license or installation needed.

Talking about the company’s value-addition plans for India, Jain said that Dassault Systemes will help students launch startups or even be employed by an entrepreneur. India is the third largest tech startup ecosystem globally (after the US and China). The country also added the second-highest number of unicorns in the world, with over 23 added in the CY2022, according to the latest Nasscom-Zinnov report.

“Our goal has always been not to just give them free access to the software but to put them in a network in various ways for them to succeed in their ventures,” Jain said. He added that the company has been working with students, especially women. “When I visited India in November 2022, as part of our design competition called ‘Aakruti-Shaping Imagination’ which saw the participation of more than 320 colleges from all over the country, there was a prize for an all-girls team. There were several girls from engineering backgrounds who had submitted their designs. The idea here was to motivate them,” he added.

Jain shared the example of Samriddhi Pandey, Founder and CEO of the Mumbai-based Defy Aerospace which designs, develops, and builds a unique drone technology for commercial cargo operations to help the healthcare sector in the country. “Her story is very interesting. She’s making large-sized drones for the delivery of medical supplies. What is amazing here is that she has made her name in a field that is generally dominated by men,” he informed.

Jain added that he found out that a lot of startups and programs were government-funded and private organizations were not ready to put their money in. “But this is now changing. In the last 3-4 years, hardware startups have been coming up in India. We see a positive outcome with this kind of change and with the greater participation of women,” said the Dassault Systemes executive.

“When I went to my engineering school (IIT-Bombay), we had very few female counterparts, but the scenario now is completely different,” he added. The startup ecosystem in India is growing fast and in the next few years, “we look forward to more innovations, more entrepreneurs, with even a greater participation of women”.

 

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