Image courtesy of Maplesoft.
The program will also act as a way for academics to interact with the Maple development team.
As a result, once an academic becomes a Maple ambassador, they will be able to meet up with the Maplesoft developers on a regular basis. This will allow the ambassador to not only get sneak peeks at new features and products, but also offer the developers feedback to help improve the software.
The ambassador program will also offer their new promoters tutorial content, forums and other resources to better improve the skills of others on campus.
As an added bonus, ambassadors will also be able to share their own Maple related research on the Maplesoft website. This should be useful to any student near graduation who is looking for employment.
Maple is a staple of many engineering campuses. As a result, many engineers have “grown-up” with the program and gaining an appreciation for its abilities, explained Jim Cooper, president and CEO of Maplesoft.
“Through the Maple ambassador program [users] will now receive support from Maplesoft as they continue to enthusiastically share their love of Maple,” said Cooper. “The ambassador program will also help us find faithful and passionate Maple users that we haven’t yet had the chance to meet and thank.”
However, not everyone on campus is familiar with the technology available to them. And I suspect Maplesoft understands that fact more than they let on. After all, the ambassador program sounds promotional for a reason. Perhaps engineering software providers need to offer more information to students about the ability of their offerings to solve their problems?
“One of the challenges with having access to engineering software is identifying what software is even available to the university or how invaluable it is to your career,” said Fatima Alleyne, research and general engineer at the United States Department of Agriculture. “As a student, I didn’t understand the scope of using [these] tools for my engineering career.”
As a result, the ambassador program can be a great way for enthusiasts to spread the word about the engineering software they love to those not yet in the know. Additionally it can offer those who wish to learn more the ability to dive deeper into the program. After all, Maple is a good skill in any engineer’s toolbox.
What interesting ways have you used Maplesoft products? What were the challenges and benefits to using the product? Comment below.