The Difference Between the COE Annual Conference and Industry Workshops

COE Your Way: 2004 offers something for everybody. From the COE Annual Conference to Industry Workshops, COE members have the ability to learn in a way that fits them best. The COE Annual Conference & TechniFair is the cornerstone annual event featuring exclusive opportunities for education, hands-on training, networking, voicing your product needs to Dassault Systemes and IBM developers, and keynote presentations from top Dassault Systemes and IBM executives. This annual event will be bigger, better, and more exciting than any COE event you've seen before with product strategy and technology updates from business leaders in all industries and a sneak peek of new products and services in the TechniFair. The COE Annual Conference & TechniFair takes place April 25-28 in Miami Beach, Florida.

COE Your Way: 2004 also offers two Industry Workshops, Aerospace (September 27-28 in Wichita, Kansas) and Automotive (October 4-5 in Dearborn, Michigan). These sessions are low-cost, targeted education and training focused on Dassault Systemes' users in each industry. Whether you work for a small, medium, or large enterprise, are new to the industry or a veteran, you can't miss this rare opportunity for interactive problem-solving in longer sessions with multiple occasions for questions and answers and the chance to see third-party products and services on display.

Whether you prefer a one-stop conference or individualized targeted training, COE offers training Your Way.

Insta-Poll Results and Next Topic

We want your feedback. Every month we will be asking you a different question on topics concerning your Dassault Systemes software installation, your experiences, or to help us improve COE member benefits. Next month we'll provide the results to our February question and introduce a new question.

Results of the January online poll:

Do you plan to attend the COE 2004 Annual Conference & TechniFair in Miami Beach?

64% Yes


23.5% No


11.8% Undecided

Please be sure to provide your input on our February question: Which of the following enhancements to coe.org would you find most useful?

COE Membership Renewals Underway

For 20 years, COE has been the premier international, user-run community uniting and supporting users of Dassault Systemes' family of software, including CATIA, ENOVIA, DELMIA, and SMARTEAM. COE provides one-stop access to experience-based design and product best practices, interactive training, and product influence.

COE is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an exciting new mix of face-to-face events and online learning and advocacy opportunities to make your participation even more valuable. This is COE Your Way 2004!

• The opportunity to learn and share information with more than a thousand CATIA, ENOVIA, DELMIA, and SMARTEAM users, developers, and vendors at the COE 2004 Annual Conference & TechniFair (April 25-28 in Miami Beach)
• Discounted registration to COE's 2004 Industry Workshops featuring interactive, low-cost, targeted training (Aerospace, September 27-28 in Wichita, Kansas and Automotive, October 4-5 in Dearborn, Michigan)
• Discounted registration for COE's Ask the Expert teleconferences and Web casts.
• Free subscription to COE NewsNet, a monthly electronic newsletter filled with informative articles, tips and techniques, and industry outlooks.
• Direct line to Dassault Systemes and IBM executives and developers through the Development Planning Councils (DPCs) to voice your product development needs - more COE enhancement requests are incorporated into every release - and new for 2004, you will be able to submit enhancement requests online at your convenience at www.coe.org!
• Access to a virtual TechniFair, and members-only pages providing online conference proceedings and a shareware library through the COE Web site, www.coe.org.
• COE's Installation Data Guide, an annual report of the CATIA installation demographics of member organizations and a helpful tool for your networking and problem solving.
• Access to COE's online discussion forums where thousands participate in problem solving and idea sharing.

To ensure that you do not lose the benefits described above, you must act now. You recently received a renewal invoice from COE Headquarters, your current installation profile, and a description of COE's membership structure. Please take a few moments to return it with payment and we will renew your membership for 2004. Please return it with full payment by the date on the invoice or your COE membership benefits will be terminated. By renewing your membership, you'll strengthen the user groups' ranks, thereby assuring that COE has even more influence with our suppliers, Dassault Systemes and IBM.

Don't Miss the Chance to Showcase Your CATIA Innovation! CADEE Contest Deadline March 8.

Enter your design to win your share in hardware and consultancy prizes.

Click here for details of the Contest rules and how to enter.

Following the success of the inaugural CADEE Contest last year, IBM has again joined forces with Dassault Systèmes and Cambashi Ltd. to invite you to enter the CATIA Award for Design & Engineering Excellence (CADEE) Contest 2004.

The CADEE Contest is the only worldwide, cross-industry competition aimed at showcasing the innovative use of CATIA by real-life companies and individuals. It offers a unique opportunity to have your design flair and innovation recognized around the world - and at the same time win some fantastic prizes. These include:

• State-of-the-art hardware from IBM
• CATIA Certification Vouchers from Dassault Systèmes
• Expert consultancy from Cambashi

As a CADEE Contest winner, you will also get to see your design featured in Contest publicity, as well as in IBM global advertising.

Who can enter
This year's CADEE Contest is open to both individual and company users of CATIA solutions. Also, for the first time, university students studying CATIA design as part of the CATIA PLM HEAT Program, are invited to enter. Entries by university students should be endorsed by the course teacher running the CATIA PLM HEAT Program. Entries can be submitted by individuals, or as an academic team of up to three students. Only entries from students studying a course within the PLM Heat Program can be accepted. Please check with your teacher first - We reserve the right to accept the application based on the participation of the school to the local PLM HEAT program.

To enter, all you need to do is submit an original, innovative design - either as a model or image - that you, or your company, have created using CATIA. There will be two judging categories, one for professional entrants and a second for student submissions. Entries by university students should be endorsed by the course teacher running the CATIA PLM HEAT Program and can be submitted by individuals or by an academic team of up to three students.

All entries will be judged by a select, international panel of representatives from IBM, Dassault Systèmes and Cambashi and will be assessed on the extent of innovation demonstrated using CATIA 5.

Each entrant who will send a fully completed application accompanied by 5 qualifying images submitted and received in accordance with the Official Contest Rules will get a valuable give-away.

The winners will officially receive their prizes at the Spring COE Conference being held at Miami Beach on 26 April - 29 April 2004

Click here for details of the Contest rules and how to enter.

COE Announces New Competition: The PLM COElympics to Kick Off at 2004 Annual Conference

CATIA V5 represents a breakthrough in the development of 21st Century products. By leveraging the V5 suite, the extended global digital enterprise can collaborate to define, manage and integrate products, processes, and resources throughout the entire product lifecycle.

The PLM COElympics allows cross-functional teams consisting of project managers, engineers, planners, tool designers, analysts, and NC programmers to use V5 in a collaborative environment. This competition demonstrates a wide range of key capabilities of V5, and gives V5 users an opportunity to demonstrate their competences in the new PLM paradigm. Key capabilities include:

• Collaboration and workflow controlled work authorization
• Knowledge based engineering for the design and release of a three part assembly, and associated tooling
• Engineering analysis
• NC programming
• Manufacturing simulation

Competing teams will be invited to register in advance for the competition. They will be briefed at the beginning of the event (e.g., Sunday) and be provided with a kit of competition material and other relevant information on the power of V5.

The competition will be administered by Dassault Systèmes, with equipment and environment to be provided by IBM and will be supported by ImpactXoft technology. Significant prizes and trophy will be awarded to the highest scoring team.

A limited number of teams will be able to compete. To pre-register your team, contact COE Board of Directors member, Bill Abramson, at abramson@attglobal.net or 828-692-5658.

COE Announces Strategic Issues Track to be Held at the 2004 Annual Conference & TechniFair

A special invitation to managers and executives from COE: Join us for the most comprehensive, executive-level Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) event offered.

Your vision enables the success of your organization. The COE 2004 Annual Conference & TechniFair's Strategic Issues Track can help you enable collaboration and empower innovation in your organization.

• Learn how to enhance the competitiveness of product development now, and in the future.
• Network with industry experts; IBM and Dassault Systemes executives; and your peers, who face the same issues and demands as you.

To find out more, download the brochure. For detailed General Session, and Strategic Issues Track Breakout Sessions abstracts and speaker biographies, COE 2004 Annual Conference & TechniFair details, and to register by March 5 and save $300, visit www.coe.org.