One of the first initiatives of the now tech giant Apple to establish itself was to get through schools and colleges. The company knew that once it could establish a base with students and teachers, it will be able to make them customers for life. Indeed, it did. The Apple II—one of the world’s first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products—became successful, as every kid growing up could relate to the platform and did not wish to leave the ecosystem. Later, Microsoft and others also started doing the same, and the concept of community evolved.
What the French software company Dassault Systèmes has been doing is no different. It has been catching them young, getting them familiar with the platform, and serving them as lifelong customers. This year, it will be making some financial gains, too. But Dassault Systèmes has not stopped there; it has been organising competitions, serving as an incubator and an accelerator.
Detailing the journey in India, Marie Planchard, senior director, Early Engagement, SolidWorks, Dassault Systèmes, highlights, “When I first went to India 15 years ago, I visited many schools in major cities. Some schools were using pencils, drafting boards and paper. A lot of 2D drafting was being done. It was not keeping with technology. I was in India this year as well, to judge the Aakruti product design competition; here, students were able to come up with a solution to a problem, and reiterate that solution on the 3DExperience platform in real time and create a virtual model of their idea. In some cases, they developed a rapid prototype.” She adds that students in India are leaping forward than in many other economies. “In fact, the most number of students on our 3DExperience platform are from India,” she says.
This year, the company is expected to take another leap; it plans to catch them at an even earlier age. Although most products of the company have been focused on college-going students, at least in India, it plans to target kids at even the primary and secondary education levels. Plus, it is getting the older population attuned to the platform experience.
“Being a technology platform, we believe students are our brand ambassadors. That is how we have created our base. We have conducted pilots and are planning tie-ups with schools to promote STEM education and learning in schools. We will go phase by phase; initially, we will cover CBSE and ICSE boards, and then regional boards and state-level schools,” says Kishor Sarvade, senior manager, Early Engagement, India and SAARC, SolidWorks, Dassault Systèmes.
But the company still faces one problem. While it has done well at premier institutes, it has a larger challenge to tackle as far as acceptance in tier-3 and tier-4 institutes is concerned. But it has hopes that the platform and the pervasiveness of the internet may change that.
“In India, we still have a few tier-2 and tier-3 cities to cover, which may not have the bandwidth. Another idea of the design challenge was to get the students from different pockets and see how the platform behaves. We got a good response from low bandwidth areas,” says Sarvade.
The development is not only focused on school and college education. Last year, Dassault Systèmes got 5,000 students participating on its platform. Sarvade highlights that, as things are progressing, it would mean successful ideas can go from competition to incubation and finally to the accelerator stage. Just last year, the company had included three start-ups from India for its accelerator programme. He hopes, as competition evolves, they will be able to do much more.
