IIT AGNE and Vision Aid Host 3D Printing Table at Independence Day Celebration

IIT AGNE, the association of IIT alumni in New England, is working with Vision Aid, to conduct one day weekend workshops for middle school and high school students in the Greater Boston area to learn 3D Printing, as a unique fundraiser for Vision Aid. In order to raise awareness, they hosted a table at the ISW (Indian Society of Worcester) and IAGB (Indian Association of Greater Boston) Independence Day celebrations on August 6th and 13th, respectively.

IIT AGNE invested in 3D Printers during the early months of the Covid pandemic to print thousands of face shields and face masks for medical personnel in the Greater Boston area. Now, these printers are being repurposed to teach school students how to use 3DPrinting, as part of its core mission to promote STEM education. IIT AGNE and ISW University piloted the program with an early cohort of highly motivated students. At the ISW India Day celebration at the DCU center in Worcester, these students showed their work with 3D printed designs at the table.

Vision Aid has a major technology initiative to develop new assistive technologies for the vision impaired, including smart glasses using AI, smart canes and science/engineering textbooks with 3D printed diagrams. This initiative involves IIT alumni in Boston who are part of the Vision Aid leadership.

IIT AGNE and Vision Aid have teamed up to organize a series of 3DPrinting workshops for middle school children or higher, with the first workshop at the Lexington Community Center on September 10th. During the IAGB Independence Day Celebration at the Hatch Shell, while a 3D Printer was printing a large Taj Mahal, smaller Taj Mahal models and India maps were raffled or given to those children who stopped by and to learn about the technology. This initiative will lead to greater visibility and skill development in a critical technology for the future.

IIT AGNE and Vision Aid are grateful to Mr. Ashish Cowlagi and Shiamin Melville from ISW, Mr. Nilesh Agrawal and Ms. Vaishali Gade from IAGB for hosting them. Vivek Badami and Alkesh Shah were instrumental in setting up the tables.

If you have a child in or near middle school who is interested in 3D Printing, please sign up for the 3D Printing workshop by filling a Google form at: https://forms.gle/51g8fmdBRb8uqRif9.

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