National Manufacturing Week 2003

National Design and Engineering Show

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2003--

        Students Gain Critical Skills for Professional Life in
                      the Manufacturing Industry

Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, today announced that Ferris State University, the largest Engineering Technology school in the United States, is advancing student education with Autodesk Inventor(R) Series, a 2D and 3D software package that combines Autodesk Inventor and Autodesk(R) Mechanical Desktop(R) software products. Freshman and sophomore students, who had previously only used Autodesk Mechanical Desktop software for 2D drafting and an introduction to 3D design concepts, are now also using Autodesk Inventor software to further their skills.

Autodesk Inventor software offers students many advantages including the ability to animate designs for presentations and assembly, ease of use in rendering materials, ease of working with constraints and work planes, and graphics efficiencies.

Ferris State of Big Rapids, Michigan, also uses Autodesk Inventor software to train high-school instructors through Project Lead The Way (PLTW) -- a national program that forms partnerships among public schools, higher education institutions, and the private sector to increase the quantity and quality of engineers and engineering technologists graduating from our educational system. Every other summer, Ferris offers a two-week Drafting and Design course that provides hands-on experience with Autodesk Inventor software.

"By teaching students at the high school level mechanical design and drafting skills using Autodesk Inventor Series software, we are preparing them for professional life where they will encounter the software and face design challenges similar to those they face in class," said Mark Hill, Professor of CAD Drafting and Tool Design. "The popularity of Autodesk Inventor software in the manufacturing industry means that students have a good chance of using it when they leave college to solve critical design challenges that can bring success to their companies."

"Ferris State has responded to the need in the manufacturing industry, graduating engineers who have training in Autodesk Inventor software. This makes those graduates highly employable not only in Michigan, but beyond," said Robert Kross, vice president of the Manufacturing Solutions Division at Autodesk.

Ferris State University is in its second century as a top technical and professional university, providing the education to make its graduates immediately employable in their chosen fields. Ferris State University is the largest Engineering Technology school in the United States, with 1,962 students enrolled (ASEE 2001 Profiles in Higher Education). Ferris also ranks fourth in the nation with the number of women enrolled in Engineering Technology. The Mechanical Design Department's CAD Drafting and Tool Design program in which Autodesk Inventor software is used, concentrates on the use of CAD in product drawing, metal stamping dies, plastic injection molds and jig, fixture and gauge design.

About Autodesk

Autodesk is the world's leading design software and digital content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. Autodesk helps customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their entire project lifecycle management processes. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com.

Note to Editors: Autodesk, Mechanical Desktop, and Autodesk Inventor are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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