Support installing Autodesk Fusion 360 for educational establishments
Published 7th October 2020
We are aware that many schools are struggling to grant student access to their popular Fusion 360 software. Please find information related to this to try and get your students up and running once again with this great CAD software. Documents relating to this information are numbered and are included below as Associated Files.
Verification
Whilst access to software is free, this is now on a one-year rolling cycle for students and educators. Document (5) runs through the verification process for individuals. The following link also runs through FAQs related to the verification process required for schools. Point 22 runs through what is required for the document review process
https://damassets.autodesk.net/content/dam/autodesk/www/industries/education/docs/edu-verification-customer-faq.pdf
Although plans are in place by Autodesk to ‘mass verify’ students, for example, before the start of an academic year, this is not yet in place. Some schools have been able to ‘mail-merge’ letters for every student and thus creating a PDF for every one.
Autodesk work with SheerID, a third-party verification services provider, to confirm an individual’s eligibility for educational access to Autodesk products and services. Their contact is support@sheerid.com
Lab Installation/ updates
See document (1) for basic lab installation.
Fusion 360 is on a six-week update cycle. Those responsible for the network licences should be emailed in advanced to enable them to prepare for updates. To navigate this, document (2) highlights an option to create scripts so that Fusion 360 updates automatically in the middle of the night. Universities and schools are taking advantage of this, so that lab installation is never an issue. Your IT dept should hopefully be able to sort this. Document (3) is an example script used.
Each of the following points refers to the numbered attachment above.
- 1. Free Software for Educational Institutions
This is for institutions who want free software for education use. There is a guided verification process that is involved to prove the education status of the institution. - 2. Advanced Installation of Fusion 360 on a Network (including automatic updates)
This is for institutions wishing to add automatic updates so that Fusion 360 updates without any impact on teaching and learning. - 3. Example Powershell script for automatic updates
This is an example Powershell script written by the University of Sheffield. This is essential for automatic updates of Fusion 360. - 4. Cloud Security White Paper
Here is Autodesk’s cloud security white paper, just in case there are any concerns around Fusion 360’s connection the cloud. - 5. Free Software for Individual Educators and Students
This is for individuals wanting to access free software. There is a guided verification process to prove that those downloading are either a student or an educator.
