TSU’s School of Science & Technology to incorporate 3D plant and engineering design utilizing AVEVA PDMS into Industrial Technologies curriculum        

Houston, Texas – June 16, 2008 – AVEVA (LSE: AVV), the leading provider of plant and marine design and engineering lifecycle solutions, has provided its AVEVA PDMS software as an educational grant to Texas Southern University’s (TSU) College of Science & Technology, Industrial Technologies program. The mission of AVEVA’s educational grant program is to give technical colleges access to the same best-in-class, sophisticated, 3D design and engineering software that is used on 100’s of real-world projects. Due to current shortages of skilled designers and engineers, particularly in Houston’s oil and gas industry, graduates of these technical programs are in high demand by Engineering and Owner/Operator firms.

Beginning in the Fall 2008 term, TSU’s Department of Industrial Technologies will provide instruction in 3D plant design and engineering utilizing AVEVA PDMS, one of the most well-known and heavily utilized 3D design solutions in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

Commented Jessie Horner, Chairman, TSU Department of Industrial Technologies: “The primary mission of the TSU’s Department of Industrial Technologies is to offer programs of study designed to prepare students as ‘management-oriented technical professionals’ who have practical knowledge, competencies, skills and training to serve and function in the Industrial/Manufacturing Enterprise System. Technical professionals skilled in the use of 3D design systems, and in particular AVEVA PDMS, are very much in demand, particularly here in Houston, the energy capital of the world. Through its software grant, AVEVA is helping us meet our goal of providing students with technical skills that will provide them with many job opportunities.”

Commented Rob Glasier, Head of AVEVA Americas: “Buoyancy in the oil market is driving increased demand for new and refurbished drilling, production, and refining facilities worldwide. The detailed design work for many of these global oil and gas projects is being done by Houston-area Engineering/Procurement/Construction (EPC) firms – many of whom use AVEVA PDMS. This business boom has caused a scarcity of qualified, skilled designers and drafts people. We are very pleased to be a technology partner to a growing list of Houston-area technical schools, colleges and universities, like Texas Southern University that are addressing the skilled labor shortage facing AVEVA’s engineering clientele.”


This initiative falls under the umbrella of a Global Academy established by AVEVA to address skills shortage within the engineering industry. AVEVA are committed to supporting the development of the engineers of tomorrow and this program provides the ability to develop market-ready skills that will support the engineer to bring immediate impact to their employer.

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About Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University is one of the nation’s largest historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with over 9,500 students. TSU provides a quality educational experience, offering over 120 baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degree programs in nine schools and colleges. The University focuses on high quality teaching, research and public service as a means of preparing students of diverse backgrounds, cultures and levels of scholastic achievement for leadership roles in the urban communities of our state, nation and world.

About AVEVA Group plc
AVEVA Group plc is one of the world’s foremost and fastest-growing lifecycle engineering IT solutions and services providers to the oil and gas, paper and pulp, power, chemical, pharmaceutical and shipbuilding industries. Listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:AVV), the Group reported pre-tax profits for the year ended March 2008 of GBP 45 million on revenues of GBP 127.6 million. The Group has grown consistently since 1967 on the strength of pioneering engineering technology that protects the information assets of its customers from the volatile nature of the IT industry.

The Group's history of innovation spans five decades and has produced most of today's major engineering IT technologies. Serving over 1700 clients, AVEVA has a dominant position in many market sectors both on and offshore. In May 2004, the Group acquired Tribon Solutions AB, the market-leading shipbuilding solution company and now serves 85% of the world's top 20 shipbuilders.

The Group's clients include leading plant owner operators, shipbuilders and engineering contractors such as Aker Solutions, Alstom, AMEC, Areva NP, Babcock Marine, BASF, BP, Chevron, China National Nuclear Co (CNNC), China Power Engineering Consulting Group Co. (CPECC), CNOOC Offshore Oil Engineering, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, EDF, ExxonMobil, Foster Wheeler Power Group, Harland & Wolff, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Jacobs, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, SBM, Shell, Sinopec Engineering, Statoil, TKMS – ThyssenKrupp Marine System, Uhde, VT Shipbuilding, Wood Group (Alliance & Mustang) and Worley Parsons.

Headquartered in Cambridge, England, AVEVA Group plc and its operating subsidiaries currently employ more than 750 staff worldwide in England, Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Dubai, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, South Korea and the USA. www.aveva.com

About AVEVA PDMS
AVEVA PDMS is the leading 3D offshore design solution, is a datacentric, multi-disciplinary design environment for the 3D modelling of offshore structures. It has modules for the design of equipment, piping, HVAC, structure and cable trays. Modelling is carried out using a customer-defined catalogue and specification, in a full 3D environment, with the support of tools that ensure a clash-free design. A full range of drawings and pipe isometrics can be produced automatically from the model.

© AVEVA Solutions Ltd and its subsidiaries 2008. All product names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective holders.