Winners of Dassault Systèmes-Sponsored Interactive Design Competition to be Announced at Detroit Auto Show

Student Competition Encouraged Design Innovation Through Social Community Collaboration

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., January 9, 2012 -- Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that the winners of the Car Design News-General Motors (CDN-GM) interactive car design competition, co-sponsored by Dassault Systèmes, will be unveiled on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 4:00 p.m. at the Cadillac stand in the General Motors exhibit, at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Split into two segments – interior and exterior for each of the GM brands -- eight winners will result from the 25 finalists. Each of the winners will have their work displayed at the 2012 NAIAS, and will receive a paid internship with GM, as well as an iPad 2.

The competition is unique in that it relies upon social community and collaboration to enhance original ideas. After submitting their designs, students received feedback from judges, mentors, fellow entrants and observers that helped them to refine and improve their designs as many times as they wanted, up until the final entry date. Automotive industry design leaders from each of the GM brand design teams, as well as from the competition sponsors Dassault Systèmes, Faurecia and SRG Global acted as mentors.

Anne Asensio, vice president, Design Experience at Dassault Systèmes, who served as a CDN-GM competition judge, said, “We believe that collaboration is key to developing innovative initiatives in the design field. We want participants to rethink the experience of vehicle design in regard to Web-based and digital technologies. Communication barriers are removed to enable a new level of creative input. Plus, new talent from otherwise lesser known design schools can be discovered.”

Competition mentor Drè Clemons, CATIA Industrial Design, Dassault Systèmes commented, “It has been exciting to sponsor and participate in this competition, which we see as an excellent way to invest and promote design education, especially in the face of recent educational cutbacks. These students have had the opportunity to receive input from leading industry professionals, helping to evolve their skill sets to a higher level. And, with the role of CATIA in the design of today’s vehicles, supporting a program such as this is a perfect fit for us.”

For background on this competition and a list of the finalist names, visit http://www.cardesigncontest.com for details and to register.

Educators and students interested in the Dassault Systèmes software solutions can visit http://www.academy.3ds.com where products and support are offered at special academic pricing.