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50 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2022 Q&A with Rea Callender Altium keeps its eyes on the designers of the future. e company has been working with colleges and universities for years, provid- ing free seats of Altium Designer for the next generation of PCB designers and design engi- neers. At IPC APEX EXPO 2023, Altium will be providing soware for the finalists in the IPC Design Competition just as it did last year. ey offer a variety of other educational pro- grams as well, including Upverter classes and a design competition that aims to address envi- ronmental change. Here, Rea Callender, Altium's VP of educa- tion, discusses its educational programs and plans for the week of the show. You head up your education programs. Tell us about some of the company's edu- cational efforts. Our mission is to attract talent to the field of electronics design, and equip students with the proper skills so that they can enter the workforce and drive the next generation of technology and innovation to a higher level. In addition to Upverter Education, our most recent initiative, Altium Education, prepares college students to advance to industry-level printed circuit board design and manufactur- ing careers. It offers a free Altium Designer student license and curriculum for college and university students interested in engineering and electronics design. Our courses take stu- dents step-by-step from learning the basics of electronics to designing their first printed cir- cuit boards. We have taken a unique approach by devel- oping the curriculum needed to teach PCB design and providing free Altium Designer licenses. Educators are using the curriculum to introduce PCB design in multiple ways in universities globally, ranging from a prerequi- site for EE courses at the University of Penn- sylvania to a standalone PCB design course to be launched by MIT. Our mission is to provide equal access to all, with specific outreach to women in electron- ics design to expand the pool of talent. Today, women comprise only 28% of the workforce in STEM fields. To address this concern, we are