Siemens Donates $660-Million in Software to Mass. Schools

Industrial giant Siemens is announced today a $660-million software gift aimed at helping a dozen Massachusetts technical schools and colleges prepare students for careers in modern manufacturing, writes The Boston Globe.

The institutions will receive licenses to train students on Siemens software used by companies worldwide to design and build a variety of products. “This grant will really assist us in making sure we are providing 21st-century learning for our students,” said Sheila Harrity, principal of Worcester Technical High School, one of the participating institutions.

Germany-based Siemens, which employs about 2,100 people in Massachusetts, collaborated on the software initiative with the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a group that advises small and medium-sized industrial firms. The firm has stepped up support for U.S. vocational education in recent months, making major software donations to Florida A&M and a Cincinnati community college.