With our acquisition of Onshape in 2019, PTC’s Education team set an aggressive goal to reach one million Onshape education users by October 2021 – effectively doubling the number of users participating in our education plan. PTC has long been committed to empowering students and educators to succeed in an increasingly digital world – a mission accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This past week, we exceeded the goal of one million Onshape education users, nine months ahead of schedule!

World events and changing needs in education have expedited this achievement and it has been incredibly rewarding to see how many educators and students have been able to take advantage of Onshape. Students who would not normally have access to CAD can now engage in STEM, robotics teams can compete even when their season is suspended, and educators can seamlessly continue their instruction because of their access to Onshape.

PTC’s mission is to help create a better world – and these examples show our purpose coming to life. We are empowering educators to reach students in new ways. Combining the one million Onshape education users with more than a quarter of a million students and educators who use our other products, PTC’s contribution to the education space, particularly during this crisis, has positively influenced millions across the world.

Our milestone achievement of exceeding one million Onshape education users comes with significant implications for both PTC and our customers. Students who use our software in schools often go on to work for our customers, helping them drive digital transformation with PTC technologies.

This is one of many reasons why PTC invests in education – to help students grow into and thrive as future leaders. Our presence in the education space contributes to the growth of future technology leaders and gives back to our communities and those of our customers.

The year 2020 changed nearly every aspect how we live, work and learn. As a mother of two school-aged children, I’m proud to be part of an organization that helped create some level of normalcy for children and students around the globe. It’s one of the most important ways we’re helping our communities survive – and thrive – during these challenging times.