Dassault Systèmes Launches Product Lifecycle Management Certification Initiative in South Korea

SPARK program to enhance promotion and recognition of PLM Skills

Paris, France and Seoul, South Korea – Oct. 7, 2004 - Dassault Systèmes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the world’s leading developer of product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, today announced the PLM SPARK program, an initiative that measures and promotes PLM skills in Korean companies and academic institutions.

SPARK (Skills Promotion and Recognition for Korea) provides students and professionals with recognition of their skills in using Dassault Systèmes’ PLM solutions and has two main elements:

- an agreement through which the Korean Society of CAD/CAM Engineers (SCCE) terminates its CATIA skills certification and endorses Dassault Systèmes’ Certified Professional program. Dassault Systèmes will grant SCCE certificate holders with an equivalent qualification recognized worldwide

- the opening of an Academic testing center at Hanyang University that will operate the Dassault Systèmes certification program with affordable terms and conditions for students.

Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA Certified Professional Program provides customers and users with a globally valuable index for measuring and promoting their CATIA knowledge. Certification exams can be taken in more than 3,500 testing centers and are available in English, Japanese, French, and German, and now in Korean.

In support of the PLM SPARK launch, Certified Professional tests will be available in South Korea at reduced prices for a limited time.

"We are observing, together with increased adoption of Dassault Systèmes technology, the rapid formation of a vast community of PLM experts worldwide,” said Philippe Forestier, executive vice-president, alliances, marketing, and communications, Dassault Systèmes. “The PLM SPARK program will expand this community in South Korea.”