Made in 3D 2024 winners announced

Originally created in France in 2017 by La Fondation Dassault Systèmes and la Fondation La Main à la Pâte, the Made in 3D program fosters an innovation and entrepreneurship mindset amongst middle school and high school students by introducing them to the culture of makers and start-ups. Participants create virtual start-ups to imagine, design, make and promote their dream product using professional 3D design and 3D printing technology, as well as advanced collaboration tools.

Expanding beyond France, the contest has also been running in India since 2021, in collaboration with the Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog – Government of India, and in the US since 2023.

Let’s take a look at this year’s winning young start-uppers from all over the world who put their creative and making power at the service of the common good. 

In a testament to their creativity and commitment to inclusivity, French students from 217 participating classes across 81 schools have worked on innovative solutions to enhance accessibility in sports for people with disabilities. This year's edition saw students tackle various aspects of para sport, including equipment, apparel, and accessibility, across elite, amateur, and school levels. Notably, this year marked the first time French schools abroad participated in the Made in 3D contest.

The challenge generated a remarkable 612 preliminary ideas, illustrating the students' enthusiasm and ingenuity. This impressive turnout reflects the younger generation's dedication to building a more inclusive and accessible world for all. During the grand finale held on June 12 at the 3DS Paris Campus, the jury, composed of experts from the scientific community, the startup world, and the field of para sport, had a challenging task in selecting the winner among the four finalists, shortlisted based on their summary presentations and project promotional clips.

• 1st Prize: DanSon - EIB Monceau Middle School, Paris, France.
  The team invented Pulsera, a lightweight electronic armband that helps deaf and hard of hearing dancers feel the rhythm of the music through vibrations.

   

• 2nd Prize: HandiFab – Collège Vallis Aerias, Valreas, France
  The Self-Lacing Shoe Kit automatically tightens or loosens your laces with a simple tap on an app or a press of a button on the shoe, eliminating the need for manual tying and untying. The self-lacing kit adapts to a wide range of shoes and provides improved independence and accessibility for those with limited hand mobility or who cannot bend easily.

   

• 3rd Prize: Ping Industry Pong – Collège Kléber, Haguenau, France
  Pincko is an ergonomic dispenser, attached to the upper arm, that allows hand or forearm amputee ping-pong players to load up to 3 balls and be ready for serving.  

   

• 1st Prize for French schools abroad: Easy Company – Lycée Français, Lomé,Togo
  EasyPick is a robot that locates and collects scattered balls, delivers them to the collection zone and elevate balls to the table so that wheelchair ping-pong players non longer need to bend down and retrieve balls from the ground. 

Made in 3D – Seed the Future Entrepreneurs season 2023-24 brought together 840 students aged 12 to 16 years from 140 schools selected from 29 states and union territories of India with the help of 140 teachers and 150 Dassault Systèmes volunteers.

The first theme for this fourth edition of the contest in India was to design a product boosting the rural ecosystem. The second one encouraged young students to imagine an object that could help people in their everyday life. India is one of the countries with the largest number of farming workers. With 45% of the population working in this field*, it becomes necessary to find solutions to make their work easier and more efficient.

The top 12 teams pitched their product as part of the Grand Finale that took place on June 8 on the 3DS Campus in Pune, India.

• 1st Prize: AVISHKAR – Dada Maharaj Natekar Vidyalaya, Chikali, Pune
  Quick-Multi-Cutter is a multi-purpose instrument, easy to handle, to make sugar cane harvesting easier and more comfortable for farmers.

   

• 2nd Prize: Ignis – The Orchid School, Pune
  Efficook is a retrofit kit that transforms traditional gas stoves into efficient appliances by adding remote control and automation features such as preset cooking modes, timers, and built-in safety mechanisms.

   

• 3rd Prize: Elixir – Spring Dales Public School, New Delhi
  NetraKit is a non-invasive, portable, affordable eye-testing device that meets the needs of underserved communities in rural areas where the shortage of optometrists and other specialists hampers access to vision care.

For its second edition, Made in 3D in the US gathered more than 100 students from 6 high schools and middle schools across the country. With the support of 27 Dassault Systèmes volunteers, they had to imagine a product that could help ageing people in their daily life or design a product in the realm of sports technology.

The finale was a vibrant celebration of student creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Over a week filled with excitement, six incredible product pitches were showcased remotely, with students passionately presenting their projects through engaging videos and thoughtful presentations. In addition to the two exceptional projects that stood out, a number of other awards were also attributed for Social Impact, Innovation, Design Excellence and Marketing.

• 1st Prize for middle schools: MindSwing, Feaster Charter School, Chula Vista, California
  UCONNECT is an affordable batting weight than can be used on any baseball bat for children and adults who want to improve their swing.

   

• 1st Prize for high schools: Remind Memory Corp., Greater Lowell Technical High School, Tyngsborough, Massachusetts
  This all-girl team developed P&F MemoryVision, glasses that are equipped with a camera, a data chip and a detachable hearing aid to help senior citizens with dementia, memory loss or eye sight limitations recognize, remember and be reminded of people and important information.

Congratulations to all the students and teachers around the world that entered the Made in 3D 2023-2024 edition for their creativity, ingenuity, and their hard work during this academic year.