Dassault Systèmes and UniLaSalle, an engineering university in France focused on life, digital, energy and veterinary sciences, today announced that UniLaSalle has become the 25th member of the 3DEXPERIENCE Edu Center of Excellence global program, which provides experiential, lifelong learning with Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform to accelerate the digital transformation of industry.
The announcement was made today during the inauguration of Apex UniLaSalle, UniLaSalle’s new digital innovation center in Beauvais, France, in the presence of Bernard Charlès, Chairman of Dassault Systèmes, Sébastien Windsor, President of UniLaSalle, Caroline Cayeux, President of the municipality of Beauvais, Manoëlle Martin, Vice President of the Hauts de France region, and Jean-Marie Caillaud, Prefect of the French department of Oise. The center was a winner of the call for projects of France’s digital innovation training plan, “DEFFINUM.”
With this label, UniLaSalle’s Apex becomes the first center to offer education and research in life sciences, earth sciences, manufacturing, and environmental engineering combined with expertise in Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Students will benefit from the latest advances in the virtual technologies that industry uses to create sustainable innovations, reinforcing the university’s leading role in training and applied research. Engineering projects
focusing on major challenges in ecological transition, ecosystem conservation, biomimicry and other areas will empower students to become highly engaged experts for building a more sustainable future.
“UniLaSalle combines a variety of research and learning programs in agriculture, agro-machinery, manufacturing engineering, geology and environmental sciences. Thanks to Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform, we can model virtual twins based on scientific principles, analyze them, anticipate their behavior and interactions, and collaborate around them on the cloud across our four campuses as well as with our international partners. Being recognized as a 3DEXPERIENCE Edu Center of Excellence demonstrates our joint dedication to offer students new opportunities to create, learn, explore and innovate.”
Philippe Choquet, General Manager, UniLaSalle.
UniLaSalle’s 3DEXPERIENCE Edu Center of Excellence label builds upon its decade of collaboration with Dassault Systèmes, founded in a shared vision for innovation and for transforming higher education. Their joint exploration of new fields of application for the 3DEXPERIENCE platform has enabled student-led research and findings – much of them focused on how nature can inspire new engineering and manufacturing technologies – that have been transformed into new learning opportunities.
“UniLaSalle and Dassault Systèmes share the same passion for sustainable innovation. Today we are celebrating our decade-long partnership. Over these 10 years, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform has been instrumental in fostering innovation at UniLaSalle - from modeling geological layers and lava crystals to collaborating on projects in biomimetics. We are therefore excited to launch a new ambition with the Apex center, which will allow students from all disciplines within the school to imagine and create new experiences for a more sustainable world.”
Florence Verzelen, Executive Vice President, Industry, Marketing and Sustainability, Dassault Systèmes.
In their inaugural speeches, Caroline Cayeux, former Minister and President of the Communauté d'Agglomération du Beauvaisis, and Franck Pia, Mayor of Beauvais, emphasized that the opening of APEX is a strong sign of UniLaSalle's development in the region, in the service of student excellence.
“The Region stands by young people and is committed to providing them with the best possible learning conditions. By investing alongside higher education establishments, the Hauts-de-France region is working to ensure the success of its students and to promote the region's reputation. The inauguration of this APEX bears witness to our determination to position ourselves as a region of excellence, where young people and teachers can benefit from cutting-edge equipment to devise solutions to the challenges of ecological transition for a sustainable future.”
Manoëlle Martin, Vice-President of the Hauts-de-France Region in charge of higher education, research and guidance
“I note the human and entrepreneurial dimensions of UniLaSalle, paramount to accomplishment and self-fulfillment.
The Apex will enable everyone to develop their share of genius.
It's a lever for academic excellence at the service of tomorrow's challenges.”
Jean-Marie Caillaud, Prefect of Oise
