Premier Farnell plc : ITE Singapore signs multi-year partnership with CadSoft Computer and element14 Asia-Pacific

Partnership provides training to prepare students for greater success in careers in electronics design and product development

Singapore, 17 July 2013 - element14 has partnered with the Institute of Technical Education(ITE) of  Singapore and CadSoft Computer to provide training on Computer Aided Design of PCB (Printed Circuit Board) for students in Asia-Pacific. CadSoft's award-winning software, EAGLE, is a user-friendly, powerful and affordable tool for PCB design, and has been used by design engineers worldwide for 25 years.

element14, a distributor of technology products and solutions for electronic system design, maintenance and repair, and CadSoft Computer will work with ITE on developing the curriculum for PCB design that supports ITE's Electronics courses, including Schematics Capture, Components of Library Creation, PCB Routing among others.

As part of the agreement, ITE will establish a CadSoft-element 14 EAGLE Training Centre at ITE College West. This training centre will be used to provide training in the use of the CadSoft EAGLE software for both ITE students and industry professionals.  CadSoft will supply the necessary licenses and technical support for the training sessions. Through the training, students will learn to work with the EAGLE software on multiple projects before entering a professional career in electronics design.

Thomas Liratsch, General Manager of CadSoft Computer said, "We are delighted to team up with ITE and element14 to provide technical education for PCB design. Education is a key success factor for young students and helps them keep pace with the fast developments in the electronics industry. The familiarity and proficiency gained from our CAD training will be an asset to the students for any professional career in the electronics industry."

EAGLE combines three modules - schematic editor, layout editor and autorouter - in a single interface. It is fully supported on the Windows, Linux and Mac platforms, with files being completely interchangeable. Its flexible licensing model, which includes free lifetime support and no annual maintenance fees, offers great value for educational institutions, companies and individuals. EAGLE has been named the Product of the Year 2013 by German magazine Elektronik for the eighth time.

Dr Yek Tiew Ming, Principal, ITE College West, welcomed this collaboration, "This partnership reaffirms ITE's commitment in forging closer partnerships with the industry, moving towards its vision of being a global leader for innovations in technical education. We take pride to partner CadSoft and element14 -global market leaders in PCB Design Software. This partnership will offer an excellent platform for us to draw on their individual strengths and synergise their resources for the common good. It is an actualisation of ITE's philosophy to continually engage the industry and provide industry-relevant skills, knowledge and values for employability and lifelong learning in a global economy."

Ravi Pagar, Regional Director - South Asia, element14 Asia-Pacific, added, "element14 is delighted to partner with ITE and CadSoft to give students a taste of the real world early on in their course. We work with many industry-leading suppliers to offer solutions, applications and products for electronics design, and this collaboration will pave the way for us to work more closely on industrial projects together to enhance the training of their students."

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About CadSoft

CadSoft Computer GmbH and CadSoft in the USA are part of Premier Farnell plc., one of the world's leading distributors of electronic components, products and services. CadSoft specializes in the development of the popular CAD-Software EAGLE used by design engineers worldwide for 25 years now. EAGLE is a user-friendly, powerful and affordable software for efficient circuit board design (PCB design) and combines the + schematic editor, layout editor and autorouter on one single interface. Shared Open Source User Language Programs (ULPs) guarantee maximum flexibility by enabling various features, such as simulation, realization of individual instruction sequences, data export and import.  DesignLink feature provides access to data and prices on over 4 million products from Newark, Farnell and element 14. EAGLE users benefit from free support through dedicated experts, active customer forums, the EAGLE community on element 14, webinars and training on demand.

About ITE

The Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Singapore, was established as a post-secondary education institution in 1992 under the Ministry of Education. ITE is a principal provider of career and technical education and key developer of national occupational skills certification and standards to enhance Singapore's workforce competitiveness. Under its "One ITE System, Three Colleges" Model of Education and Governance, ITE has three Colleges, comprising ITE College Central, ITE College East and ITE College West. For more information, visit: www.ite.edu.sg

About element14

element14 is a high-service distributor of technology products and solutions for electronic system design, maintenance and repair. Bringing together the latest products, services, and development software, all connected to an innovative online engineering community where purchasers and engineers can access peers and experts, a wide range of independent technical information and helpful tools. Whether researching a new technology, designing an electronic product, or looking for parts to repair an existing system, element14 is the trusted global source to find the answers and parts you need to keep your project on the fast track, right from the start.

element14 is the operating business of Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl) in Asia Pacific.

About Premier Farnell

Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl) is a global leader in high service distribution of technology products and solutions for electronic system design, maintenance and repair. Its differentiated proposition includes 29 local language transactional websites, and the critically important element14 Community for design engineers - an industry first (www.element14.com). With sales last year of £952m the Group distributes its comprehensive portfolio of products and services throughout Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, supported by a global supply chain of over 3,500 suppliers and an inventory profile developed to anticipate and meet its customers' needs.

While global in scope, Premier Farnell recognises the individual needs of each market and has continued to internationalise its model accordingly. It trades locally as Farnell in Europe, Newark/element14 in North America and Mexico and Farnell Newark in Brazil. Across Asia Pacific the business trades as element14.

Key facts

• Operations in 35 different countries
• 4,100 employees
• Over 2 million customer contacts in 156 industries
• Over 3,500 leading suppliers
• Over 400,000 products stocked with access to over four million more on demand
• Global leader in legislation RoHS, WEEE, REACH

 For more information visit the website at Premier Farnell.

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Christina Loh

Communications, element14 Asia Pacific

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Ms Jamie Chan

Head/Media, ITE

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