For International Women's Day, Ultimaker, the international market leader in 3D printing, donated over twenty 3D printers to America Makes, a leading American organisation for research and innovation focused on additive manufacturing and 3D printing technology. In turn, America Makes will make these 3D printers available to high schools, with the aim of raising awareness, especially among female students, of the career opportunities and entrepreneurial opportunities in this field.
The Ultimaker printers will be made available to high school students as part of a new national 'outreach programme' named Additive Edge. The goal of this programme is to get students acquainted with additive manufacturing (the process of making objects from 3D modelling data –ed.) and to introduce them to career paths and entrepreneurial opportunities in the industry.
Additive Edge is aimed especially at female students, since recent research has shown that only 13% of all professionals in the additive manufacturing industry are female. Without a coordinated effort by the corporate world, educational institutions and civil society, this situation will not change in the next ten years, according to Greg Elfering, President of Ultimaker America. Elfering: "This initiative is a part of our ESG goal to offer equal opportunities to male and female engineers. We want to equip a new generation of female engineers to solve global problems with the tools of additive manufacturing."
Ultimaker has previously donated 3D printers to an initiative aimed at increasing the participation of women in the 3D printing sector. For example, the company donated printers to the national #MakerGirlGoesMobile campaign, aimed specifically at young girls in rural, disadvantaged communities.
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