South Korean design software developer Zyx Technology said Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Sungkyunkwan University to donate its own developed computer-aided design (CAD), dubbed “ZYXCAD.”

Under the agreement, the ZYXCAD program, worth 1 billion won ($770,000), will be available free of charge to college students and academic staff for the next three years.

The signing ceremony was held at Sungkyunkwan University College of Engineering building in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. Zyx Technology CEO Choi Jong-bok, Dean of the College of Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University Kim Tae-sung, and two professors from the School of Civil and Architectural Engineering also attended the ceremony.

“Under this strategic agreement, I hope the promising students and academic staff at Sungkyunkwan University will have easy access to CAD software and explore their careers,” said Zyx Technology CEO Choi Jong-bok.

CAD is a computer program that creates two- or three-dimensional graphic representation as an alternative to manual drafting. It is mainly used in computer animation as well as product, industrial, and civil and architecture design.

While the domestic industry widely adopted foreign CAD software, Zyx Technology aimed to offer a cheaper alternative.

Helping existing users to easily adapt to ZYXCAD, the company first boosted its compatibility and user convenience, Zyx Technology said. The IFC model files, an open file format used by Building Information Modeling programs, can also be imported into the Korean CAD.

ZYXCAD boasts improved productivity -- more than 600 percent compared to foreign software -- with the use of multicore processors, the company added.