One of the best ways for students to build career awareness and readiness is to gain hands-on experience with the same tools that industry professionals use. For more than a decade, NI (part of Emerson) has supported PLTW’s Digital Electronics course by providing Multisim software for use in high schools across the U.S., with more than 37,000 students estimated to currently have access to the software.
In this course, students explore the foundations of computing by engaging in circuit design processes to create combinational logic and sequential logic; just like electrical engineers do in their daily work. The use of Multisim software allows students to create and simulate circuit designs to solve problems then download and send the circuit to their programmable logic controller, bridging simulation and real hardware in a single learning flow.
PLTW programs also continue to leverage other NI and Digilent tools, including Analog Discovery and WaveForms, that help students develop a balanced engineering skillset by blending virtual design with hands-on measurement and validation. Together, these tools reinforce a key idea: students learn best when they can predict behavior in software and then confirm it in the real world.
Oscar Fonseca, NI Academic Product Manager at Emerson, answered a few questions for us to help educators understand just what the Multisim software is and how engineers use it.
PLTW students taking the Digital Electronics course have the opportunity to use Emerson NI’s Multisim software throughout the course. What exactly is this software?
Multisim is an electrical engineering playground. It is a place to try ideas out before you build them for real: a circuit design and simulation tool that lets you sketch a circuit, see how it behaves, and make changes along the way. You can test assumptions, spot mistakes, and understand how components interact without needing a lab bench full of parts. It offers a practical, high-feedback way to connect classroom learning with real circuit behavior.
How do professional engineers use this software in their real-world jobs?
Engineers use Multisim as a thinking and testing space. Before committing time and money to physical hardware, they’ll model a circuit, see how it responds, and adjust the design until it behaves the way they expect. It helps catch problems early and gives engineers confidence that what they’re building will work once it’s brought into the real world. For many engineers, this design–simulate–adjust cycle is simply part of their daily workflow.
What advantage do you think access to the Multisim software in high school gives students as they look towards college and career?
Having access to Multisim in high school helps students see what engineering really looks like. Instead of stopping at equations or diagrams, they get to experiment and see cause and effect for themselves. That experience makes engineering feel more approachable and less abstract. Students arrive at college already thinking like engineers. They’re familiar with schematics, timing diagrams, digital logic, and measurement workflows, which makes a big difference early on. It gives them confidence to contribute sooner and engage more deeply in first-year engineering labs and projects.
In general, what advice would you give a high school student considering a career in engineering?
Be curious. Be patient. Be persistent. Engineering isn’t about having all the answers right away. It’s about being willing to work through problems when things don’t go as planned. My advice is to stay curious, be patient with yourself, and not shy away from challenges. If something doesn’t work, that’s not failure, that’s information. With tools like Multisim, you can rapidly test ideas, learn from what you see, and get better with every attempt. The students who do well in engineering are the ones who keep asking “why” and aren’t afraid to try again.
Try it yourself! Install the NI Circuit Design Suite, build a small circuit in NI Multisim, run the simulation, and watch how it behaves. Your first breakthrough might be ten minutes away. Download from ni.com/download/Multisim.
In addition to Emerson NI’s in-kind donation of Multisim software, the company has expanded access to PLTW programs for students in Austin, Texas, through support of the PLTW Grants program. To learn more about partnerships that support STEM education and CTE programs from PreK through 12th grade, visit pltw.org/partners.
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