An Adventist University on the Caribbean island of Jamaica received a nearly US$120 million software grant yesterday for the engineering school, the largest grant of its kind in the island's history.

Northern Caribbean University (NCU) was presented the grant from representatives of Siemens Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Software at the school's Mandeville campus.

A company spokesperson said that NCU is the first academic institution in the Caribbean to utilize the technology, which includes computer-aided design, production and manufacturing applications.

"This grant from Siemens PLM will help establish a world class engineering department for our students," said Herbert Thompson, NCU president. "As Jamaicans we have a great vision for ourselves, that by 2030 we can be recognized as a developed country by the United Nations. We know that we will need to continue to train and develop our next generation of engineers and manufacturers to achieve that goal."

Siemens PLM Software is part of the Nuremburg, Germany-based Siemens Industry Automation Division, a division of Siemens AG, Europe's largest engineering conglomerate.

"We hope that through this in-kind software grant students will have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how product lifecycle management tools and computer-aided engineering are used to help bring innovative thinking and ideas to life," said Alfredo Trevino, vice president for sales at Siemens PLM Software.