General Electric is supplying schools with 3D printers to help future makers, scientists and creatives through their GE Additive Education Program (AEP).
As of this week, the American company has begun accepting applications for its 2019/2020 cycle of the program. Primary and secondary schools (ages 8 to 18) can enter until April 1st, 2019.
GE Additive made a financial commitment to invest in educational programs over five years. To date, the program has aided over 500,000 students ranging from primary to university level through the donation of over 1,400 polymer 3D printers to 1,000 schools in 30 countries.
“An inquisitive student, discovering additive for the first time, formed the heart of our recent ‘Anything Factory’ brand campaign. The purpose of our education program is to create moments like that, to inspire students like her, in classrooms all around the world” said Jason Oliver, President & CEO, GE Additive. “The sooner we put additive technology in the hands of the next generation of engineers, materials scientists and chemists, the sooner we can realize its potential.”
Apply for Your School Before April 1st
Last year, more than 600 primary and secondary schools across 30 countries received polymer 3D printing packages. This year, it could be your school as GE Additive continues to focus on younger students.
Oliver adds: “This year’s education program will focus only on primary and secondary schools. The original purpose of our program is to accelerate awareness and education of 3D printing among students – building a pipeline of talent that understands 3D design and printing when they enter the workplace. We already enjoy some wonderful working relationships with universities and colleges, so this year we have decided to focus our efforts on younger students.”
The 3D printing packages include both hardware and software as well as science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) curricular materials.
Primary and secondary school students will have access to the Polar Cloud online platform which builds an ecosystem for children to learn from both machines and online content. All students and educators can access tools and software in a secure environment.
The packages include a Polar Cloud premium account, a Polar Cloud enabled 3D printer from Dremel, Flashforge or Monoprice, and rolls of filament. Also, new for this 2019/2020 cycle is a range of learning and Tinkercad software resources from Autodesk.
Interested in applying for the 2019/2020 cycle? Visit the GE Additive website for more information.
Source: Press Release
License: The text of "GE Additive Education Program Open to Applications, Focus on Primary to K12" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.