Nikon SLM Solutions
SLM Solutions CEO Sam O'Leary.
SLM Solutions CEO Sam O’Leary has joined the Board of Directors of Thinking Huts, an international non-profit set up to 3D print schools in developing countries.
Thinking Huts was founded by Maggie Grout, who serves as CEO of the organisation, with the aim of using concrete 3D printing technology to address the challenges of providing education to young people in developing countries.
According to Thinking Huts, there are more than 290 million students being prevented from attending school due to overcrowding, travel distance and lack of infrastructure. Working with Defining Humanity, a fellow non-profit with expertise in architecture, Thinking Huts opened its first 3D printed school in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar in partnership with the Ecole de Management et d’Innovation Technologique (EMIT) university, which serves 2,500 students.
Moving forward, the organisation is aiming to scale globally to build more schools with local partners in other developing countries. To do this, Thinking Huts will focus its efforts on bringing together a local supply chain that can facilitate the building of the infrastructure, while partnering with a local organisation that can oversee daily operations of the school and supply teachers.
With O’Leary now sitting on the Board of Directors, Thinking Huts believes it is even better placed to scale its impact globally.
“By building schools leveraging 3D printing, Thinking Huts is able to provide education infrastructure in a sustainable and efficient manner,” O’Leary commented. “This approach has the potential to revolutionise the way schools are built in the developing world, making it possible to build more schools and serve more students than traditional construction methods would allow.
“The 3D printing industry has disrupted how companies innovate. It’s time we pivot the same disruption to that of the education system by enabling access to a good education in developing countries.”
