Stryker promotes 3D printing skills in primary schools
Students of Our Lady's Abbey, Adare, among the winning schools in a national 3D printing competition supported by Stryker, with Conor Tolan, vice president, manufacturing, at Stryker. Photo: Clare Keogh
Five primary schools from across Ireland have emerged as winners of ‘Manufacturing a Healthy Future,’ a 3D printing design challenge which aims to foster STEM skills in classrooms.
MedTech company Stryker has run the primary school programme since 2021, in conjunction with I-Form Research Ireland Centre for Advanced Manufacturing, equipping teachers with 3D printing skills and tools to introduce manufacturing technology in classrooms.
Mag O’Keeffe, vice president of global additive technologies at Stryker, said: “Stryker’s involvement in the ‘Manufacturing a Healthy Future’ programme underscores our commitment to innovation, sustainability and community engagement.
“By introducing students to 3D printing at an early age, and welcoming them to our manufacturing facilities, we hope to ignite their creativity and inspire the next generation of problem-solvers. We look forward to expanding the programme’s impact and reach in the coming years.”
Marking the end of the 2024/25 programme, Limerick schools Our Lady’s Abbey, Adare, Scoil Naomh Iósaf, Adare and Croom National School, as well as Scoil Phádraig, Ballyhale, County Kilkenny and Central Model Senior School, Marlborough Street, County Dublin were named the winners of this year’s competition.
Students from the winning schools recently visited Stryker’s facility in Anngrove, Co Cork, to explore innovations in additive manufacturing.
The winning entries showcased students’ creativity and problem-solving skills, tackling real school needs by developing light switch covers, chair reinforcements, a ball-catching hockey goal, desk-side water bottle holders, and custom drainpipe mesh covers. These projects highlighted transferable 3D printing skills and the impact of STEM knowledge.
The competition forms part of a wider European initiative supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Since launching in 2021, more than 100 teachers and 2,000 students in Ireland have participated, including over 500 students from DEIS primary schools.
As supporters of the programme, Stryker and I-Form provide technical assistance to the teachers, judge the entries and donate prizes to participating schools towards purchase of educational technology.
