Penn State University Partners with Siemens PLM Software

Computer software company Siemens PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) will take its 25-year working relationship with Penn State University to the next level by offering students access to its PLM software with the goal of enhancing the University’s academic and research programs.  Penn State students will now be able to utilize the same Siemens PLM software used by manufacturers globally. 

The PLM grant expands the relationship between Siemens and Penn State in healthcare, infrastructure, energy and sustainability.  The $750 million in-kind grant will support programs at nine Penn State Commonwealth Campuses in Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania.  Campuses will incorporate the software into student coursework and research related to computer-aided-design, engineering simulation, industrial design, digital manufacturing, and manufacturing management.  Penn State Great Valley is currently building a new Engineering Center and Multidisciplinary Engineering Design degree program in conjunction with the Abington and Brandywine campuses and will be using the software in the process.

“The Siemens PLM software will be a crucial tool as we educate our students to become leaders and innovators in the manufacturing industry,” said Craig Edelbrock, chancellor of Penn State Great Valley.

As the manufacturing industry grows within North America, the field becomes more sophisticated, thereby requiring greater skills from its workforce.  Currently, there is concern among manufacturers that its highly skilled workforce is dwindling.  Siemens responded to this concern earlier this year by providing PLM software grants to Virginia schools to ensure that students were exposed to the actual software tools used in the industry.

More than 77,000 global customers utilize Siemens’ software and technology solutions.  Pennsylvania alone is home to over 200 businesses that use Siemens PLM software, including employers FMC Technologies and Kennametal Inc.  In the past, the software has been used to design NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover, Dyson vacuum cleaners and Callaway golf clubs.

Eric Spiegel, president and CEO of Siemens USA, commented on the grant in a recent press release, saying “Manufacturing is the most sophisticated, forward-looking, and innovative business function in the world today and we need to let students know what these jobs look like and what students need to learn in order to get them.  Our enhanced partnership offers students valuable academic and workforce opportunities to start careers in this high-tech industry.”