Coventry University automotive centre now biggest Autodesk Alias Studio user in UK

John Owen, head of industrial design at the University, says that the software, which is also being used in the Department of Industrial Design, is aimed at giving students the knowledge they need of the industry standard product for the automotive industry. With 82 seats of Alias Studio, the university is now the software’s biggest user in Britain and one of the largest in the world. CEPAD, which is using the software with major automotive manufacturers, such as Land Rover, originally selected the package to see how well it could translate skills, such as clay modelling, into the digital world. CAD modelling and clay modelling are now taught simultaneously so that when students design using conventional techniques, understanding about the design can be converted into CAD and vice versa. Says Owen: “We wow [students] with the very best that Alias Studio has to offer first, to show them where to start. We take the essence of the CAD tool, such as the surface continuity capabilities, and explain why it is the best tool for the job – then allow the students to develop their own skills around that.”