Florida Tech Alumnus Donates Advanced Engineering Platform to Boost Student Innovation
A Florida Institute of Technology graduate is revolutionizing how current students approach aerospace design, Stefan Siarov has pledged free access to his company's specialized software. This donation targets student design teams, it aims to replace outdated spreadsheet methods with professional engineering tools.
Decades of Space Coast History Drives Engineering Curriculum
The university founded in 1958 has long supported the U.S. space program at nearby Cape Canaveral, its curriculum emphasizes practical and hands-on learning. Florida Institute of Technology requires seniors to complete complex design projects, these efforts culminate in the competitive Northrop Grumman Student Design Showcase. Students historically relied on disconnected documents for data management, this method often led to critical errors during the build process. Siarov experienced these frustrations firsthand as a student, his struggles with "document-based engineering" directly inspired the creation of better solutions.
Valispace Platform Offers Single Source of Truth for Teams
Siarov's company is now providing enterprise-level licenses of Valispace at no cost, the software functions as a "GitHub for hardware" engineering. This tool allows student teams to centralize technical data like mass and power budgets, it ensures all members work from the same updated figures. The donation specifically supports groups entering high-stakes competitions, these include rocketry challenges and autonomous vehicle designs.
Modernizing the Engineering Workflow
The platform replaces the need for thousands of isolated Excel spreadsheets, it introduces students to Model-Based Systems Engineering concepts early in their careers. This approach creates a live database for technical parameters, it significantly reduces the "project drag" caused by manual data entry errors. Major industry players use similar workflows to manage complex systems, the software was recently acquired by **Altium** to further integrate it into professional design ecosystems.
Students Gain Competitive Edge for Aerospace Careers
Graduates will enter the workforce with rare proficiency in modern data management, this makes them highly attractive to major employers like L3Harris. The partnership professionalizes student projects immediately, it allows teams to handle greater technical complexity with confidence. This model sets a new standard for alumni engagement, it proves that in-kind software gifts often provide more direct educational value than financial donations.
University officials expect the software to become a staple in the engineering curriculum, future coursework may formally integrate these tools to mirror industry standards. The collaboration highlights a shift toward digital-first engineering education, it effectively prepares the next generation for global aerospace challenges.
