New Project Design Workshop Part of Canada's First Digital Media Masters Degree Program

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan 22, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) and Electronic Arts, Inc. (Nasdaq: ERTS) are today introducing a new project design workshop for Canada's first Masters for Digital Media (MDM) Program at Great Northern Way Campus in Vancouver, British Columbia. As part of the 20-month MDM Program, the workshop will equip students with techniques to plan and manage digital media projects in their academic and professional careers.

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Glenn Entis, senior vice president at Electronic Arts, and Autodesk Fellow Tom Wujec developed the curriculum and will be teaching the workshop. Following the workshop, student teams will be equipped to work on industry funded digital media projects that include: multi-player online game development; the creation of next-generation digital social networks; the 3D graphical visualization of a sustainable ocean ecosystem; and a 3D virtual ride on the Canada Line -- the expanded rapid transit system which will be in place for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

"Our goal is to shape the next-generation of digital media leaders," said Dr. Gerri Sinclair, executive director of the MDM Program. "We're collaborating with industry luminaries such as Electronic Arts and Autodesk, so that the students can benefit from their forward thinking. The project design workshop will give students the tools they need to manage real-world digital media projects."

During the two-day workshop, students will map out the stages of their semester-long digital media projects. The workshop's collaborative framework will provide more than 20 techniques to design and plan digital media projects, understand client and end user requirements, and generate a comprehensive production plan. Encouraging teamwork and critical thinking, students will use visual communication tools and techniques to explore topics and present key learnings.

EA's Entis said, "I'm very excited about leading this workshop. There's a clear need for better planning of digital media projects, particularly with the rapid pace of technological change. The right pre-production planning can make or break a project."

Autodesk's Wujec added, "Autodesk's knowledge and experience in multiple industries, including entertainment, automotive design, manufacturing and building, complement Electronic Arts' approach to thinking more broadly about digital project planning. There's growing demand for rigorous pre-production planning and visual communication throughout digital media projects. With this workshop, we're helping tomorrow's digital media leaders design better projects and arrive at the best choices in less time. At the heart of this emerging innovation practice is the art of making ideas visible."

About the Masters for Digital Media Program at the Centre for Digital Media, Great Northern Way Campus

Launched in September 2007, the Masters for Digital Media Program is an innovative, full-time professional Masters Degree Program. It offers students team-based experiences focused on project learning in close collaboration with the international digital media industry. Housed in the Centre for Digital Media at Great Northern Way Campus, the MDM is a 20-month program, and includes a paid summer internship.

Great Northern Way Campus (GNWC), established in 2001, is an educational innovation; a collaborative university campus environment that combines the strengths of four leading academic institutions: University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design and British Columbia Institute of Technology. The MDM Graduate Degree bears the seals of these four academic partners.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA SPORTS BIG(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2007, EA posted revenue of $3.09 billion and had 24 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is http://www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit http://www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk and AutoCAD are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

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Contacts:
Roohi Saeed, Autodesk, 514-954-7296, roohi.saeed@autodesk.com
David Tinson, EA Canada, 604-456-5167, dtinson@ea.com
Grace Battiston, Great Northern Way Campus, 778-370-1013, grace_battiston@gnwc.ca

SOURCE Autodesk

http://www.autodesk.com/