Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) revolutionizes the way companies design and develop their industrial products by offering a 3D vision of the entire product lifecycle, from initial design to maintenance. By teaching PLM to students of all engineering disciplines at National Tsing Hua, the PLMIC hopes to become a source of innovation, contributing to the growth of Chinese industry and enabling it to take a leading position in R&D as well as manufacturing.

Li Zheng, Executive Head of the Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, stated: "The PLMIC will be a centre of excellence, giving all our departments access to the very latest PLM technologies available, and consequently increasing the university's recognition."

The centre will implement Dassault SystËmes' industry-leading PLM V5 software solutions CATIA, ENOVIA, SMARTEAM and DELMIA on workstations sponsored by HP. Delivering cost-effective computational and visualization power, HP workstations were chosen to meet the demands of a highly-productive IT engineering environment.

AIP-PRIMECA, a group of French engineering schools supported by the Ministry of Education, will ensure the students receive a world-class education with complete curricula training in PLM by staffing the centre with a Co-Director and visiting professors.

"To be successful in design engineering today, we need to be able to exchange information and collaborate with colleagues anywhere in the world", stated Professor Daniel Coutellier, Director of the AIP-PRIMECA Network. "This centre creates a new international opportunity. It is envisioned the course offering will expand, and may lead to joint French-Chinese diplomas."

National Tsing Hua University and AIP-PRIMECA's initial educational co-operation will be on developing four training modules in Integrated Design and Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering, to be taught by the French professors sent over on exchange.

"Innovation is a real competitive advantage for engineering firms, and it takes place mostly during the design process", commented Francis Bernard, Executive Committee Advisor and Board Member, Dassault SystËmes. "Dassault SystËmes is proud to be part of an initiative that enhances both young people's education and the future of the Chinese industry."

Jim Zafarana, Vice-President, HP Workstation Division, stated: "We are delighted at this opportunity to collaborate with Dassault SystËmes in setting up the PLM Lab at National Tsing Hua University. With the investment of our leading workstation technology, HP is helping the centre develop new, relevant curricula to build a talented, skilled workforce for the engineering industry. This project further underlines the importance and long-term commitment of HP to the Chinese market."