Tech, Innovation & Society - The Creative Process: Technology, AI, Software, Future, Economy, Science, Engineering & Robotics Interviews MAGGIE GROUT - Founder & CEO of Thinking Huts tackling Global Education Crisis with 3D Printing
Maggie Grout is the founder and CEO of Thinking Huts, an international NGO that increases global access to education with innovative, humanitarian-driven technology solutions. Founded by Maggie 8 years ago, when she was15, Thinking Huts seeks to empower young people, especially girls, to achieve more opportunities by obtaining an education. Grout gave a TEDx talk in 2021 on “how we can tackle the global education crisis with 3D printing.”
Grout was born in a rural village in China and adopted at a young age, but where she came from largely shaped her outlook on life and subliminally led her to start Thinking Huts in 2015. Growing up in London and Colorado, Grout was exposed to the melting pot of cultures in British and American society, but she often wondered why so many people were unaware of how others lived an ocean away. She understood what poverty looks like firsthand and how education empowers people to attain greater opportunities.
“So we use architectural scale 3D printers to construct schools, and it's a hybrid design, so there are 3D printed walls and then locally sourced materials for the rough door windows. And that was an intentional design choice. So we're blending old and new and still being able to train local workers on how they can operate the printer and doing technology transfer that way. In terms of how it works on the ground, we have a combination of teams that come together based around the world, but primarily in Madagascar itself. So we have the local construction workers and engineers, and then the architects, and then of course the technology partner. We're planning and currently in development for the Honeycomb Campus, which will be eight huts on about an acre of land on the west coast of Madagascar. The supply of teachers and the daily operations and management of the school are done by local partners.”
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