Autodesk Panorama 2015 participants hailed from Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and Ukraine

Up-and-coming architects, engineers, and industry designers from all over the world gathered at the prestigious Tongji University in Shanghai and put their skills to the test at the Autodesk Panorama Student Bootcamp in March.

The Bootcamp was the culmination of a year-long journey for the participants from 12 countries who beat hundreds of teams and thousands of submissions in their national design competitions for the chance to represent their city at the international event.

Their original concepts and designs for products and spaces that can positively impact our communities were what ultimately earned them a spot in Panorama, which has continued grown in size and scale over the last five years. Previous Autodesk student boot camps were held in Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Malaysia and Singapore.

“The way we design and make things is changing rapidly and we’re not only looking to the future with new technology, we’re looking to the future with the next generation because big problems need fresh ideas,” said Don Carlson, Autodesk Education.

Over an intensive three days, the passionate and talented students stepped outside of their classrooms and comfort zones and participated in hands-on training sessions to advance their design skills, and were coached and mentored by industry experts who gave them tough but constructive critique of their work.

“I was a mentor at the Panorama Boot Camp in Malaysia in 2010 and I continue to be inspired and impressed by these young designers. What they are able to accomplish using professional 3D design tools and industry workflows not only mirrors business realities; they're also learning about collaboration, problem-solving and time management, skills that are transferable to any career," said Lee Miller, Vice President and the Director of Design Technology Implementation for HOK.

The esteemed panel of Panorama mentors included Lee Miller from HOK in San Francisco, Jake Fowler from the Fusion 360 User Experience Team in Autodesk Shanghai, and Dr. Miao Lijie from Harbin Electric Corporation

For the first time in Panorama history, students got first-hand experience with Autodesk Fusion 360 and were challenged to conceptualize, design and model an innovative wearable technology device in just 10 hours. The Hackathon was a test not only of the students’ creativity and problem-solving abilities against a deadline, but also of their presentation skills as they “pitched” their ideas to the panel of mentors just as an entrepreneur would to potential investors.

Jake Fowler, Senior User Experience Designer for Autodesk Fusion 360, introduces the product and Hackathon challenge to the Panorama participants

Among the brilliant projects developed within the time limit, the combined team from Bryansk State Technical University in Russia and National Technical University in Ukraine emerged the winner of the Hackathon with their concept, “Modular Wearable Personal” or MWP.

Don Carlson presents the combined team from Russia and Ukraine with their prize for their winning Autodesk Fusion 360 Hackathon wearable tech concept, “MWP”

The lightweight MWP backpack that can charge multiple small-sized but long-life batteries simultaneously anytime, anywhere, was inspired by the desire for constant connectivity and the multiple mobile devices that people carry with them on the go.  

Other unique wearable tech ideas that impressed the mentors included the WeJaw from Team India which enables users to brush their teeth hands-free and test their blood sugar levels; a motorcycle helmet that makes SOS calls automatically when you get into an accident by the all-girl team from Turkey; and Smart Gloves, a device for tourists that provides real-time information on landmarks and foreign language translation with a simple point of a finger.

“We want to help groom next generation talent so that they are in a position to succeed when they graduate and enter the working world. Autodesk Panorama embodies our commitment to design education. We don’t just provide the global education community with free* access to our 3D design tools and project-based learning resources. We help open doors for the future workforce by providing them with international platforms to showcase their talent and be connected with the industry,” said Carlson.

Free Autodesk software and/or cloud-based services may only be used for educational purposes and are subject to acceptance of and compliance with the terms and conditions of the software license agreement or terms of service.  Details and restrictions available at http://usa.autodesk.com/legal-notices-trademarks.