California State University, Northridge

Partnering for a new equitable era in technology education

Education Success Story

Autodesk Chief Marketing Officer Dara Treseder catches up with CSUN President Dr. Erika Beck at Autodesk University 2024 in San Diego (video: 4:02 min.)

With 37,000 students and a core commitment to serving a diverse student population, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is located in the heart of Los Angeles county’s San Fernando Valley. The university embraces diversity, ranking second in the nation in awarding baccalaureate degrees to Latinx students.

Through a partnership with Autodesk, the university is looking forward to opening the new Autodesk Technology Engagement Center. But it won’t only serve CSUN students. The new makerspace will be open to youth across LA where they can play with technology and even envision themselves as future students there.

Dara Treseder, Chief Marketing Officer at Autodesk, and Dr. Erika Beck, President of CSUN, discuss the new center, the growth of the partnership over the years, and how the university is supporting Latinx students.

“[Autodesk] is making the future,” Beck says. “To partner with Autodesk allows our students to see themselves in that future—especially for a university like ours, one of the most diverse universities in the country. Youth who maybe didn't see themselves in the creative technology of the future now can see themselves in those spaces...they're very excited about it.”

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