A University of Nottingham-led project will bring 3D design and printing to children and young people taught in hospital education across England, and will study whether the activity can support their recovery. Funded by a Royal Society Science Community Grant and the Julia Rausing Trust, the three-year initiative will start in 25 schools, each of which will receive a 3D printer and staff training.
The project runs with The National Association for Hospital Education (NAHE). It covers hospital schools, medical pupil referral (MPR) units and Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) inpatient units. Professor Ruth Goodridge and Dr Simon Lawes of the University of Nottingham are leading it, with engineers and scientists from other UK universities volunteering to support schools locally.
How the program works
Each program runs over a school term and follows a user-centered design approach. Students begin by looking at their own surroundings and identifying something that could work better for them, such as an aid for a difficult task or a personal item that makes a hospital space feel more like home.
They then define design requirements and frame a design challenge. Training lets students contribute at different levels, from sketching and generating ideas to CAD modeling and printing. Each term ends with a showcase where schools across the network share their work. Staff will be supported through a national training program run from Nottingham, help from a local partner university, regular webinars and an annual in-person workshop.
Alongside its educational goals, the project will explore whether 3D printing can aid children’s recovery after serious illness or injury. Teachers at participating schools see potential to support cognitive rehabilitation following an acquired brain injury by helping students rebuild attention, memory, sequencing and problem-solving skills.
To investigate this, the team is partnering with the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre for Rehabilitation, led by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The collaboration will combine educational and clinical expertise to understand how creative, technology-based activities could affect both learning and longer-term health outcomes.
Why it matters
Goodridge said young people with long hospital stays or complex health needs often miss the practical STEM experiences their peers have. “This project will help address that gap, giving them access to inspiring 3D design and printing activities that broaden horizons, build confidence and develop valuable skills for the future,” she said.
She added that hospital school staff describe illness as making a child’s world feel small. 3D printing, she noted, gives students a tangible sense of achievement at a time when much of their lives may feel beyond their control.
The project is one of ten Science Community Grants announced by the Royal Society, which aim to build teacher confidence in STEM and embed more practical science in schools. “Embedding more practical science in schools is an important step to help build future generations of scientists and innovators,” said Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society.
Closing the hands-on skills gap
The Nottingham project’s strategy is to equip and train the educators rather than bring in outside specialists, so that 3D printing becomes part of everyday teaching for students who would otherwise miss practical STEM learning.
Similar teacher-first efforts are underway elsewhere. New Mexico State University’s DREAM Research Center recently trained its third cohort of K-12 teachers in 3D printing. Its workshop takes educators through designing, slicing and printing parts so they can bring the technology into their own classrooms.
In Nigeria, Innov8 Hub partnered with the Czech Embassy to set up a STEAM and 3D Printing Technology Centre in Abuja. It pairs accessible desktop printers with structured training under a skills-first strategy. What sets the Nottingham project apart is its audience. It brings that same hands-on access to children whose education is disrupted by illness.
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Featured image shows University of Nottingham-led project will bring 3D design and printing to children and young people. Photo via University of Nottingham.
