As part of the H2020 Twinning project “Promised: Promoting Archaeological Science in the Eastern Mediterranean”, The Cyprus Institute organised a novel hands-on activity that bridges bioarchaeology with 3D visualisation and printing technologies. Students from the Heritage Private School were involved in the assembly of a prosthetic hand, the components of which were printed at The Cyprus Institute’s facilities.

This activity will be organised systematically from 2020 with the aim of donating the prosthetic upper limb devices to people with disabilities. With this initiative, The Cyprus Institute is joining the e-NABLE global community of volunteers who use 3D printers to make free prosthetic upper limb devices for people in need. Information about the e-NABLE Community and its mission can be found in this link: http://enablingthefuture.org/ .

In the words of Simon Demetriou, Head of English at the Heritage Private School: “The five students of The Heritage Private School that were fortunate enough to participate in the Promised project outreach activity had an incredibly stimulating and rewarding experience. They gained a better understanding of the interdisciplinary and cutting-edge work being carried out at The Cyprus Institute from the tours and presentations on osteoarchaeology and virtual environments, before having the chance to engage in that work first-hand in their assembly of a functional 3D printed hand. Everyone had a wonderful time and we look forward to participating to more outreach initiatives at The Cyprus Institute. Thanks so much for the opportunity!”