Organization wants to stimulate research in CAD/CAM and other engineering software.

The Open Design Alliance (ODA) announced yesterday the launch of Education and the ODA, a program aimed to stimulate research in CAD/CAM and other engineering software applications by educational organizations. Educational institutions, groups, and students interested in or already performing CAD/CAM research can register as ODA educational members free of charge. ODA is a nonprofit consortium of more than 3,000 software developers and users committed to promoting open, industry-standard formats for the exchange of CAD data and CAD legacy data.
Educational members have free access to ODA software libraries, and depending on the educational project and application, the source code can be made available in special cases at the discretion of the ODA board of directors. Later this year, the organization will launch the First Annual Education and the ODA Showcase with an annual prize awarded for the most noteworthy and remarkable educational project.

"The CAD/CAM industry lacks innovation due to limited research in engineering software," said Arnold van der Weide, ODA president. "Our education initiative is an extension of our commitment to CAD technology software development, with the added benefit to students and universities interested in creating and exploring new technologies."

Source: management.cadalyst.com