Five primary schools win awards at additive manufacturing competition
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. Under the theme of ‘sustainability’, students used 3D printers to develop innovative solutions to challenges within their school communities.
Stryker, a leading global medical technology company, in conjunction with I-Form, Research Ireland’s centre for advanced manufacturing, has been rolling out the Manufacturing a Healthy Future programme since 2021, working with primary school teachers to empower them with the skills and 3D printing equipment necessary to bring manufacturing technology into their classrooms.
Marking the end of the 2024/25 programme, Limerick primary schools Our Lady’s Abbey and Scoil Naomh Iósaf from Adare and Croom National School; Scoil Phádraig from Ballyhale, Co Kildare; and Central Model Senior School from Marlborough Street in Dublin were named the winners of this year’s 3D printing design competition. Throughout the month of June, students from the winning schools visited Stryker’s manufacturing facility in Anngrove, County Cork where they were presented with trophies and saw firsthand the innovative work being done in the field of additive manufacturing.
The winning entries reflected the students’ creativity and problem-solving skills, addressing real-world needs within their schools – ranging from creating light switch covers, chair back reinforcements, a ball-catching hockey goal, a desk-side water bottle holder to custom drainpipe mesh covers.
The competition forms part of a wider European initiative supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) which provides cutting-edge tools and knowledge, while igniting student interest in STEM through hands-on learning.
Michael Golden, education and public engagement manager, I-Form, said: “Manufacturing a Healthy Future is about sparking curiosity and confidence in STEM from an early age. By opening up access to cutting-edge technology like 3D printing in primary schools, this project helps break down barriers and challenges traditional perceptions of who belongs in manufacturing. We’re proud to support young learners from all backgrounds to see themselves as future engineers, innovators, and makers.”
As long-term supporters of the programme, Stryker and I-Form have recognised the need to evolve and innovate the approach to STEM education constantly. Stryker and I-Form scientists and engineers provide technical assistance to the teachers, judge the entries and donate prizes to participating schools towards purchase of educational technology. This support is helping address STEM skills shortages by developing the future talent pipeline at an early educational stage, as well as increasing diversity within STEM and narrowing gender disparities.
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.”
Since 2021, more than 100 teachers and 2,000 students in Ireland, including more than 500 students from DEIS primary schools, have participated. The project partners are Stryker and I-Form at University College Dublin in Ireland, Arts et Metier Institute of Technology in France, University of Tartu in Estonia, LINPRA in Lithuania, PBN in Hungary and LMS University of Patras in Greece.
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