Xavier University has made history by becoming the first university in the Midwest to establish a MakerBot Innovation Centre introducing professors and students to 3D printing.
Join an increasing number of universities in the U.S., Xavier is the first private college in the United States to partner with MakerBot to develop a curriculum designed to empower students and businesses to innovate, collaborate and compete more effectively.
"Our mission at Xavier University is to educate our students so that they are able to make the world a better place,” said Shawn Nason, chief innovation officer with Xavier University. “With these innovative MakerBot Replicator 3D Printers, we will transform how our students learn here at the Xavier Centre for Innovation and beyond. With MakerBot, we'll not only be ‘making' 3D objects in our classrooms, but helping shape the leaders and innovators of future industries as well."
The MakerBot Innovation Centre at Xavier is a custom, centralised and scalable 3D printing solution designed to create an environment in which entrepreneurialism, education and innovation can be cultivated and encouraged in the Cincinnati area and beyond.
With dedicated spaces for start-ups and networking, the MakerBot Innovation Centre at Xavier is designed to attract local entrepreneurs, innovators and researchers. It will serve as a local innovation hub where students from different academic disciplines can gain invaluable hands-on experience by collaborating with entrepreneurs and researchers on real-world projects.
The Xavier Centre houses 31 MakerBot Replicator 3D Printers, a large supply of MakerBot PLA Filament, several MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanners and MakerBot MakerCare Protection Plans. All 31 printers are linked together by the MakerBot Innovation Centre Management Platform, a proprietary and innovative 3D printing software platform designed to streamline productivity and staffing of the centre.
"The passion for innovation and 3D printing at Xavier is contagious and we can't wait to see what comes out of their MakerBot Innovation Centre," commented Jenny Lawton, CEO of MakerBot. "We're particularly thrilled to provide the team at Xavier with consulting from MakerBot to help develop a curriculum that integrates 3D printing. This is an important step that will help introduce more students, community members and entrepreneurs to the idea of 3D printing and how this technology can help them visualise and memorise complex theoretical concepts, gain hands-on experience and unleash their creativity."
WATCH: MakerBot talk innovation and new materials at TCT @ CES