EXTON, Pa. – Bentley Systems’ BE Careers Network today announced the opening of its 2009 BE Awards student design competition – an integral part of Bentley’s annual BE Awards of Excellence program honoring the extraordinary work of its users. University, technical college, and high school students are invited to submit projects they’ve designed using Bentley software, along with a short essay describing their work. The judging will focus on creativity and skill in applying design and engineering principles. The program welcomes both individual and team efforts, but teams cannot exceed three members. All submissions must be received by Feb. 20, 2009. Bentley will award a $1,000 scholarship to the winning individual or team in each of the five submission categories.

“As we continue to progress toward our goal of sustaining the world’s infrastructure, we must also sustain the architectural, engineering, construction (AEC), and geospatial professions charged with this critically important mission,” said Scott Lofgren, global director of BE Careers Network. “It is well known that the world faces an increasing shortfall in the number of trained architects and engineers available to surmount the growing backlog of infrastructure work. By bringing software-supported infrastructure curricula into academic institutions and sponsoring initiatives such as our BE Awards student design competition, Bentley strives to encourage a new generation to pursue careers that span the broad spectrum of infrastructure professions.”

Lofgren continued, “Each year, the job of determining the top projects in our competition becomes more challenging for our panel of independent judges – as the software tools the students are required to use help them achieve ever-higher levels of creative, quality design work. It’s a challenge everyone involved in the program eagerly anticipates since it provides us with a growing number of incredibly imaginative entries to review and appreciate.”

University and technical college students can submit projects in one of three categories: Architectural Design, Computational Design Using GenerativeComponents, and Engineering. In each of these categories students must make clear the project’s problem, intent, and solution, and support the design models with architectural or engineering drawings using any of the applications in Bentley’s comprehensive portfolio of software for the lifecycle of infrastructure. High school students can participate in the Design a Sports Arena of the Future category using MicroStation PowerDraft XM Edition. The fifth category, Animation and Freeform/Artistic Expression, is open to all academic levels and requires students to take their projects from concept to completion using Bentley software.

The winning projects will be recognized at BE Conference 2009, which takes place next May in Charlotte, N.C. In addition to the $1,000 scholarship, winners will receive an award trophy and can select 10 seats of Bentley software – from the more than 50 products available through the academic subscription – for use by their schools. Project submissions will be judged by a distinguished panel of educational leaders and industry professionals from around the world.

For more information on the submission process or to fill out a submission form, visit www.bentley.com/AcademicBEAwards. To view the 2008 jury process, please visit www.bentley.com/2008JuryVideo.

About BE Careers Network

BE Careers Network is dedicated to helping students graduate with the technology skills needed for today’s infrastructure professions, including civil engineering and architecture. It accomplishes this by providing programs for students, teachers, and schools, including free and discounted software licenses, training, curriculum counseling, and scholarships. The programs are geared to the needs of students in universities, colleges, technical schools, and high schools. For more information about BE Careers Network, visit www.bentley.com/becareers.

About the BE Awards of Excellence

The BE Awards of Excellence, which are judged by independent panels of industry experts and presented at an evening ceremony during the annual BE Conference, honor the extraordinary work of Bentley users improving the world’s infrastructure. These projects set benchmarks and showcase the imagination and technical mastery of the organizations that created them.

About Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Bentley is the global leader dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure. Architects, engineers, constructors, and owner-operators are indispensable in improving our world and our quality of life; the company’s mission is to improve the performance of their projects and of the assets they design, build, and operate. Bentley sustains the infrastructure professions by helping to leverage information technology, learning, best practices, and global collaboration – and by promoting careers devoted to this crucial work.

Founded in 1984, Bentley has more than 2,800 colleagues, offices in more than 50 countries, annual revenues surpassing $500 million, and since 1993, has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions. Nearly 90 percent of the Engineering News-Record Top Design Firms are Bentley subscribers, and a 2008 Daratech study ranked Bentley as the world’s #2 provider of geospatial software solutions. For additional information about Bentley, visit www.bentley.com.

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Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo, BE, BE Awards of Excellence, MicroStation PowerDraft, GenerativeComponents, and BE Careers Network 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.