OSU Design, Housing and Merchandising receives grant valued at $20 million from Siemens

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

(Stillwater, OK  September 23, 2009) - Oklahoma State University apparel design and production program students will learn and apply the most advanced product development software available thanks to an in-kind software grant with a commercial value of nearly $20 million from Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division. 

The gift will enrich the product development and merchandising curriculum for OSU’s Design, Housing and Merchandising Department. The in-kind grant was made through the Siemens PLM Software Global Opportunities in Product Lifecycle Management, or GO PLM™, program and includes product development software, student/instructor training and specialized software certification programs.

“The Seimens gift-in-kind software grant certainly enhances our commitment to provide the most appropriate experiences for students in the College of Human Environmental Sciences,” said Stephan Wilson, dean of the OSU College of Human Environmental Sciences. 

“The software will be a tremendous asset to current students and to prospective students planning to major in apparel design, production and merchandising, he said.  Our Design, Housing and Merchandising Department has been a nationally competitive program but this gift clearly indicates that the department continues to move up in national prominence. We are pleased by the gift and all that it signifies about the strength and future of our programs in DHM.”

“We are very excited to have Siemens as a partner in our program. In these tight economic times, we would never be able to purchase a software package of this caliber,” said Randall Russ, interim head of the Design, Housing and Merchandising Department. “This gift transforms the curriculum by providing students with the exact tools industry is currently using.”

“Apparel and footwear manufacturers and retailers face the complex challenge of delivering the right styles to market at just the right time, and doing that many times per year,” said Dan Staresinic, senior director, consumer products, retail and life sciences, Siemens PLM Software. “It’s clear that today’s best students in top programs, like the program at OSU, benefit through opportunities to gain experience with technology that supports these objectives. This GO PLM grant will help students at OSU learn the tenets of good product development on the same PLM software technology that is used by industry leaders for on-trend, on-time execution.”

OSU students in apparel design and production are well prepared to enter industry upon graduation Russ said. To have Siemens as a partner in their preparation will give them a competitive advantage over other job seekers he said.

The grant was presented during The American Apparel & Footwear Association event at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. AAFA is the national trade association representing apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies, and their suppliers, which compete in the global market. The apparel design and production program at OSU is one of only 13 programs in the nation endorsed by the AAFA.