Engineering.com recently covered how Davis Tech is teaching blind students the art of CNC machining through the use of Autodesk Fusion 360. We touched base with Campbell Foster, senior director of marketing for Autodesk Education, to discuss Autodesk’s work in developing lifelong learning solutions—so that workers can thrive within a rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape.
Engineering.com: Tell us about your background.
Campbell Foster: I have a long history in education and technology. I worked in Google, where I was part of the team that launched Chromebooks in education. That skillset translated really well to what Autodesk is doing, and how we’re thinking about accessibility and impact for our software. After Google, I was with Adobe for quite some time, working on their video products and also working with educational institutions. I joined Autodesk a little over a year ago.
What attracted you to Autodesk?
I think it’s one of the few companies in the world that are quite literally changing the physical spaces we work, live and breathe in. When you talk about changing the world and having an impact, there aren’t many companies that are doing that literally—not just figuratively—from building bridges to designing the products that we use everyday to solving real-world problems. Autodesk is really at the center of it all. I loved what the company was doing in terms of how they were approaching education, and thought it was a smart move to make the software free for students. I liked Autodesk’s approach; it’s a mission-driven company. We believe in helping our education partners train the next generation of engineers, thinkers and doers.
What are you doing at Autodesk Education?
We think about the market in terms of three segments:
- Youth, i.e. primary schools and secondary schools.
- Post-secondary, i.e. two-year programs and four-year programs.
- Professional learners, i.e. people that are not enrolled in an accredited institution but are still looking to pick up skills and learn Autodesk software.
We think of learning as a lifelong journey, and we’re involved in STEM education for kids. We have a product called Tinkercad, which is a 3D modeling and design tool that kids start using in Grades 5–6. Part of our job is to work with primary schools to introduce Tinkercad and help them use it to teach concepts. (Check out these free Tinkercad lesson plans.)
Moving forward in the age brackets with secondary schools, there’s a big focus right now on vocational and career and technical education (CTE) programs. We’re using Fusion 360 as a jumping-off point for a number of different engineering and vocational training programs globally—Davis Tech fits in that space. Vocational and CTE is a continuum from secondary to post-secondary that’s really one system. A lot of the kids that are in secondary school in vocational programs, or going to community colleges, are going to enroll in vocational training. That space is a big growth area for us, and it’s certainly in need of Autodesk products.
In post-secondary, there’s a big focus on two-year programs. We’ve always been strong in four-year programs, supporting large research universities like Cornell, MIT and Stanford. It’s the two-year programs, the community colleges, that are struggling a lot more with COVID and trying to figure out how to adapt to this new learning world. We’ve been focused on that CTE and vocational space while continuing to serve the needs of four-year programs.
On the other end of the spectrum, we serve people who have been working through to retirement. We launched our new Autodesk Certification Platform last fall to help lifelong learners stay current with their skills. A big growth area for us is figuring out how an industry-recognized credential (IRC) complements, say, an associate’s degree. How do those two things work together to create as much value, and certainly a lot more bang for the buck, than many four-year degrees can provide?
Tell us about your commitment to train the next generation of manufacturing workers.
It’s important to keep in mind that manufacturing itself is changing. We see our role as bridging academia and industry. So, what industry says to Autodesk is: “We need more people graduating with skills that can help them, not just on day one, but five years from now, 10 years from now. Autodesk, help us work with schools to educate students not just on the software, but on problem-solving and critical-thinking skills that are going to make them more effective workers in the long term.” Academia says: “Tell us what industry’s thinking. How should we be training? What are the skills that students need to learn?” As a bridge between academia and industry, I think that’s an important role we play.
We’re also working with a group called the National Skills Coalition. They put together a manufacturing recovery panel to advise the White House on policy for evolving engineering education. We wanted to make sure that engineering education is adequately funded and that vocational is considered as well. That’s another example where we’re working with industry, nonprofits and industry partners to advance education and ensure it gets the government support needed as the economy evolves.
We’re working with groups like the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) to update standardized curriculum. We’re currently engaged in a project with ASEE to look at engineering curriculum in four-year programs and come up with ways to keep it current. The standards that are used in universities were developed in the 1950s. A lot of the curriculum is pretty long in the tooth, and teaching methodologies and pedagogies have evolved in the last 70 years.
One of the things that we’re seeing in industry is convergence. When you think about things like industrialized construction, you have manufacturing and construction processes combining into more of a continuum rather than discrete silos. Our software really lends itself to this future of converged roles. That’s part of the beauty of the software—you can learn the software once, and then it lends itself whether you’re doing PCB, CAE, CAM, CAD. You don’t have to learn a new software package as you go from engineering discipline to engineering discipline. You just learn the software once and then apply it to lots of different use cases. That lends itself to a converged future where you need designers thinking like engineers and engineers thinking like designers. How are we going to manufacture this? What are all the things we need to know from art to part? From the idea of a product through to its usage, thinking in terms of that continuum is really important from an education perspective.
Describe Autodesk’s relationship with Davis Tech in regard to their CNC Enhanced Training course.
The opportunity arose organically. A member of our commercial sales team heard about the program, and approached them wanting to learn more. We were blown away by how sophisticated their use of the software was. While we provide curriculum advisory services, we did not have a set relationship with Davis Tech. So, the education team was a little taken aback when we found out how deeply they had integrated Fusion 360 into their curriculum. We were pleasantly surprised that they were able to do this on their own. I think that speaks to the power of the software, as well as our educational resources in terms of courses that we make available for free to educational institutions like Davis Tech. They were able to pick up the software, distribute it, learn it, and get our curriculum integrated into their programs with very little oversight from Autodesk.
It was very rewarding for us to hear about that. We also saw it as a huge opportunity. What could we do to enable more programs like this? Our conversations have let us better understand how to make the technology more accessible. Davis Tech has been giving us feedback to incorporate more accessibility features that help the visually impaired as well as students that have other kinds of physical limitations. They have additional ideas, and we’re like, “What can we do? Yes, we’ll do it.” Now, we have a healthy dialogue going with Geoff [Vincent] and the other instructors at Davis Tech.
It’s just nice when you get an organization that appreciates what you’re doing and is so enthusiastic. Their vision and care for students makes theirs a very human story that’s really affecting for me personally. Working with people like Geoff makes my day, and seeing students like Marley succeed makes the day-to-day activities of my job worth it and meaningful. It makes me excited to come to work in the morning and help change lives like hers.
How are you seeing Fusion 360 help prepare Davis Tech students for future careers in manufacturing?
Specific to the CNC program, Fusion 360 helps students use complex CNC machines, detect problems during the machining process, and guide themselves through the next steps. It helps teach specific functionality, so students learn as they use the software. Repetition is also key in the learning process.
One of the challenges for programs is that they can skew theoretical, and away from applied learning. With the CNC Enhanced program at Davis Tech—and this is true generally for vocational programs—Geoff and the other leaders were insistent about creating a real-world environment. What are these students going to experience when they go to work after graduating?
Fusion 360 is interesting for education because it is professional software. After you learn the software, that is what you’re going to be using on the job. It’s not like the education version of the software. The curriculum mirrors what students would actually experience in machine shops.
In particular, there are three characteristics of Fusion that lend itself to education environments:
- It’s cloud-based. Easier to maintain, but also provides greater accessibility, so it can be used on low-cost Chromebooks. You don’t need a really powerful workstation for Fusion to work.
- It’s collaborative. Fusion Team is a feature of Fusion that lets people collaborate, which is great for class projects.
- It’s customizable. In particular, this helps visually impaired students when it comes to color shifts. There are other preferences where you can customize the interface of the software; make fonts bigger and so on. The customizability really lends itself to student learning as well.
Because the software helps with problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, you’re not just learning how to machine a part—you’re learning how to think about machining as an art and a skill. It’s not just about creating this one part; it’s about learning the processes that go into designing and making it, while thinking about how it’s used. It’s getting students to think end-to-end about manufacturing.
When they show up on day one, they’re going to have the skills required to use the CNC machines and contribute to the manufacturing process. Five years from now, they’re also going to have problem-solving and critical-thinking skills that they need for long-term success. It’s about the skills, not the software. And it’s about a career, not a job.
How can today’s students prepare for new and emerging manufacturing roles in the future of work?
Keeping abreast of trends in the industry and staying current with skills is very important. The Autodesk Certification Platform is a great way to build on the base of knowledge and skills that you acquire in both secondary and post-secondary programs.
One way to stay on top of industry is through Autodesk University. You can learn how Autodesk tools are being used; how our customers are designing bridges now in ways they weren’t doing 20 years ago; how additive manufacturing has changed in the last 10–15 years; how electronics and PCB design has changed in the last 5–10 years.
To learn more about Autodesk’s education efforts, visit the Autodesk Education website.
Interested in learning more about Davis Tech’s work with blind students? Check out Davis Tech Trains Blind Students in CNC Machining.