On the role of CAx in design education

The tension that has been created by the industry pull for CAD and CAE skil ls in engineering graduates is explored by surveying the current state of i ndustry practice. Proposing that industry needs are a predictor of changes in engineering education, examples from computer-aided drafting, computer-a ided design, computer-aided engineering and computer-aided manufacturing ar e provided, The paper concludes with support for multidisciplinary capstone projects in the educational experience and a brief look at trends that mig ht predict the rate of adoption of CAD in educational programs.