The Empower 3D project is an Erasmus+ project coordinated by the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers (ENSAM, France), in partnership with University College Dublin (UCD) and Masaryk University (MUNI, Czech Republic).
The ultimate goal of the project is to cultivate and diversify the talent pool for industry by sparking children's curiosity about science, technology, and engineering from an early age, using a playful method based on 3D printer technology.
Studies show that girls' interest in STEM subjects begins to decline at the age of 11, which explains their underrepresentation in these fields once they reach higher education. This is also the case for children from disadvantaged areas.
By introducing engineering-related activities before this age, the Empower3D project aims to combat stereotypes surrounding these fields and promote a more inclusive and open engineering science, while increasing the influx of new engineering students. Therefore, the project pays particular attention to the geographical and social diversity of the schools targeted, in order to reach children who have fewer opportunities to come into contact with new technologies and to spark their curiosity.
To achieve this goal, we believe that teachers can play a key role, particularly in disadvantaged contexts where family environments may have less impact on educational choices. However, primary school teachers are rarely aware of these issues, and above all, they are not trained in them, which prevents them from introducing these sciences into their teaching.
This is where the Empower3D project steps in:
To address this problem, the project aims to produce learning modules on 3D printers tailored to teachers, in order to equip them with the knowledge and skills required to integrate these tools into everyday classroom activities.
The project also develops ready-to-use educational resources and learning scenarios that support teachers in delivering engaging, creative and age-appropriate activities with their pupils to encourage them to imagine, design and prototype solutions linked to real-world themes such as sustainability, repair and responsible use of resources.
By equipping teachers with new competences and confidence, and by offering pupils early, positive experiences with digital manufacturing technologies, EMPOWER3D aims to strengthen technological literacy in primary education and to contribute, in the long run, to a more diverse, informed and motivated generation of future engineers, designers and innovators.