BE Careers Network Launches 2007 BE Awards of Excellence Student Competition

Exton, Pennsylvania, United States , 2006-11-08

The BE Careers Network has launched the 2007 BE Awards of Excellence student competition. Four winners will receive BE Awards and scholarships during BE Conference 2007, taking place April 29-May 3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California. The competition is broken into two categories: college/university and middle school/high school.

"The world needs more architects and engineers to address our growing infrastructure needs," said Scott Lofgren, global director of Bentley's BE Careers program. "To encourage students to consider these careers, we've developed a very special competition."

Part of the BE Awards of Excellence program, the competition gives students the opportunity to create real-world infrastructure designs using the same software that professionals use. Students who are already studying architecture or engineering design get the chance to hone their skills and have their talent recognized by the architectural, engineering, and construction community.

Students and student teams in the college/university competition can complete a project design of their choosing in one of three areas: architecture, engineering (civil, structural, and geospatial), and water. A winning project will be selected in each category. Students enrolled in schools participating in the BE Careers Academic Subscription program will have access to more than 50 software applications to complete their designs.

The students and student teams participating in this year's middle school/high school competition are being asked to design a school of the future. They must complete their projects using Bentley's MicroStation PowerDraft, a professional-level CAD application used for production 2D/3D design and drafting. The software is available to them, free of charge, through the BE Careers Network at www.becareers.org.

The BE Awards of Excellence student competition is judged by an independent panel of experts from academia and industry. The winners are notified in advance of BE Conference 2007 to enable the students to attend the awards ceremony and receive well-deserved recognition, prestigious BE Awards for display in their schools, and scholarships.

Student teams participating in the 2006 BE Awards of Excellence competition came from around the globe, with the winners representing Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore, Maryland, the University of Virginia, and An-Najah National University in Palestine.

For more information on the 2007 BE Awards of Excellence student competition, go to www.becareers.org/awards.

About BE Careers Network

The mission of BE Careers Network is to help architectural and engineering students graduate with market-ready technology skills. It accomplishes this by providing programs for students, teachers, and schools; free and discounted software, training, and curriculum counseling; and award programs. For more information, visit www.becareers.org.

About BE Conference 2007 and BE Conference Europe

The BE Conference, which consistently scores a 99 percent attendee satisfaction rating, is a once-a-year learning opportunity for Bentley user organizations. BE Conference 2007 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California, April 29-May 3, and BE Conference Europe will be held at the Hilton London Metropole in the United Kingdom, June 10-14. For more information, go to www.be.org/beconference.

For information on the 2007 BE Conference Call for Presentations, visit www.be.org/CallforPresentations. The deadline for application submissions is Nov. 30, 2006. The benefits of being a presenter include recognition as an industry expert plus a waiver of all conference fees.

About Bentley

Bentley Systems, Incorporated provides software for the lifecycle of the world's infrastructure. The company's comprehensive portfolio for the building, plant, civil, and geospatial verticals spans architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) and operations. With 2005 revenues of $336 million and more than 2000 colleagues around the world, Bentley is the leading provider of AEC software to the Engineering News-Record Top 500 Design Firms and major owner-operators and was named the world's No. 2 provider of GIS/geospatial software solutions in a recent Daratech research study.

To receive Bentley press releases as they are issued, visit www.bentley.com/bentleywire. For more information, visit www.bentley.com. To view a copy of Bentley's May 2006 Annual Report online, go to www.bentley.com/May2006annualreport.

Bentley, the "B" logo, BE, BE Careers Network, BE Awards of Excellence, and MicroStation PowerDraft are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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CONTACT: Bentley Systems, Incorporated Press Contact: Ron Kuhfeld +1 610-321-6493 [email protected] , ,