Computer-aided design giant Autodesk has signed a cooperation agreement with Skolkovo, the international tech hub under completion on the outskirts of Moscow, to potentially provide software support to resident startups and Skoltech students. The deal was struck earlier this month at the Skolkovo Technopark Office Center by Skolkovo vice president Alexandra Barshchevskaya and Herbert Bickelman, senior manager of EMEA Education at Autodesk.
Details of the agreement were not disclosed but similar deals Autodesk has struck with other establishments has seen the American giant offer its products for educational and scientific purposes, allowing teachers to improve their skills, and students to master CAD.
Autodesk software could be made available to students of both Skoltech and Open University Skolkovo, the distance-learning unit of the foundation whose mandate is to attract talented young people, skilled in science and technology and displaying entrepreneurial talent, recruit them and allow them to develop within the innovation ecosystem in Russia.
Ivan Kireev, a project manager at Skolkovo’s IT Cluster, said cooperation with Autodesk could give resident startups an edge in gaming and gamification, a new area of development for the Skolkovo Foundation.
“For our startups it’s crucial to understand the Autodesk engine,” he noted.
Established in 1982, Autodesk is an American multinational software corporation that makes software for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries. According to a July report, Autodesk is the global CAD market leader and serves approximately 12 million professional users in more than 160 countries.
This story is based on materials published by the Skolkovo Foundation.
