Ultimaker has been working with education institutions in the UK and will launch into the Education sector. The move will continue a wave of 3D printing in the education system as academics move to roll with new technology. In conjunction with the announcement is a national campaign called the CREATE Education Project. As 2014 stretches into itself, the project will unfold. Ultimaker’s motto for the project happens to be “Imagine it->Make it”, and in this vein, Ultimaker wants to bring 3D printing to British and Irish Schools while making the process affordable and accessible in a rather egalitarian sense.
With open source technology and a collaborative approach to the effort, Ultimaker hopes to engage and aid the learning process of every student with access. Already, testimony has proven positive. Curriculum Leader at Cleethorpes Academy, Marie McDonagh, said, “We ordered five Ultimaker 2 printers after an impressive workshop run by the Ultimaker team where students were able to produce their own 3D designs in under two hours. We have incorporated 3D printing in to both Key Stage 3 and 4 curriculums to give students experience of this exciting new technology. The Ultimaker 2 printers represent good value and the support and advice from Ultimaker has been excellent”.
The campaign follows the acronym CREATE and offers a 3D printer kit at £1000 for interested schools. Ultimaker’s strategy consists of the following points: Community, Reliability, Education, Access, Teachability and Economics. Supporting Ultimaker’s goal for accessibility is the use of Cura software that is open source and free for Ultimaker users complete with design software, scanners and downloaded templates for 3D printing. Also, Youmagine.com provides an international platform for collaborative and learning practices. The effort comes at the behest of indicators of the future, one replete with jobs not yet existing. Unlike other prophesies, the future projection of a world transformed by 3D printing is easily foreseeable to anyone with access and familiarity of the industry and technology.
