Reflecting on SOLIDWORKS Worlds over the Years

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It’s been a couple of weeks since SOLIDWORKS WORLD 2019 in Dallas. This year as usual, there were amazing guest speakers in the general sessions, hundreds of technical breakout sessions, and the evening events were lots of fun. On Monday at the end of the general session, Gian Paolo Bassi announced that next year, SOLIDWORKS WORLD would be expanding to include all the Dassault Systemes brands, and would be called 3DEXPERIENCE WORLD.

This announcement made me reflect on all the SOLIDWORKS WORLD conferences I’ve been to over the years. My first SOLIDWORKS WORLD was in 2002 in Las Vegas. I started with a reseller in March 2001, just missing SWW 2001 in Orlando. I’ve been to every SWW since then except for two – I didn’t go to SWW 2004 in Boston, and I didn’t go to SWW 2009 in Orlando. So that’s sixteen SOLIDWORKS WORLD’s for me… seems like I just went for the first time not too long ago.

It’s an encapsulating time, for sure. Every time I learn something, and meet lots of new people. Three of my favorite things about SWW are Model Mania, the “What’s New” skit, and the CSWE event.

Model Mania

Model Mania is just that – a contest where maniacs are modeling a part as quickly as they can… Reseller employees and customers put their names on a waitlist to subject themselves to the pressure of modelling a part given to them via a paper drawing. After modeling the part, they need to answer some questions about mass and then make some edits to the part and run a simulation to determine the factor of safety. Every year the model is different. Mark Schneider is the mastermind behind Model Mania, and every year he runs the booth and announces the winners on Wednesday morning. Take a walk down memory lane and 19 years of Model Mania by reading this tech blog written by Mark.

What’s New Skit

Every year, the Product Introduction Team does a hybrid live/pre-recorded skit on the coming release. These skits are always hilarious and showcase many of the coming new tools. Two of my favorites were “CAD COPS” (2011) and “The Dating Game” (2006). With the music from “Bad Boys” playing in the background, SOLIDWORKS customers were busted by the CAD COPS for designing inefficiently and wasting time, and were told they have to “right to rebuild,” and they’re brought to the station for questioning and to tell them about the helpful tools in SOLIDWORKS 2012.

In the Dating Game, there were paper daisies on the wall like the original show, with a bachelorette on one side of a wall and three bachelors on the other side. The bachelorette askes the three bachelors slightly suggestive questions, and the bachelors take turns answering her with new tools coming in SOLIDWORKS 2007.

CSWE Event

The CSWE Event is an annual event on the Monday evening at SOLIDWORKS WORLD. It’s an exclusive event only for people with their Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert (CSWE). We celebrate the accomplishments of the people in the upper echelon of SOLIDWORKS users, who have proven their knowledge and passed the top tier of the certifications we offer. It’s a fun evening, and includes an all you can eat buffet and an open bar, and typically lots of fun activities.

So as SOLIDWORKS WORLD transforms into 3DEXPERIENCE WORLD, I’m counting the days to go to my seventeenth “WORLD” to visit with all my friends again, go to the sessions, and see the new products and tools that will be showcased at 3DEXPERIENCE WORLD 2020 in Nashville on Feb 9-12. Hope to see you there!

Jenn Doerksen

Jenn Doerksen

Jenn Doerksen works for Dassault Systemes SOLIDWORKS, as a Sr. Industrial Process Consultant. She has been part of the SOLIDWORKS community since early 1997, when she bought her first license of SOLIDWORKS. She has a Bachelor’s of Engineering from the University of Victoria and lives with her husband and their dogs in Vancouver BC, Canada.