Stratasys Education Director Jesse Roitenberg Discusses 20-Year AM Journey and K-12 Integration on 3DPOD

Jesse Roitenberg, Education Director at Stratasys, appeared on the 3DPOD podcast to discuss his 20-year career in additive manufacturing and the company's evolving role in education. Roitenberg, who began in sales during Stratasys's early days, covered the integration of desktop 3D printers into K-12 schools, university engineering programs, and dental training solutions. The conversation also addressed software, CAD curriculum design, and Stratasys's broader market position as the company navigates a post-pandemic landscape where education budgets remain under pressure but hands-on STEM adoption is accelerating.

This episode updates a recurring industry pattern: the slow, fragmented pull-through of AM into education as a demand vertical. Unlike aerospace or medical, where qualification grind dominates, education adoption is driven by curriculum alignment, grant cycles, and teacher training — not certification. Stratasys, with its FDM/FFF and PolyJet portfolio, competes here against UltiMaker (desktop FDM), Formlabs (SLA/DLP for dental and engineering), and Bambu Lab (consumer-grade speed). The education segment remains a volume play for hardware but a low-margin services game, where software licensing and maintenance contracts often matter more than printer sales. Roitenberg's 20-year tenure signals Stratasys's long-term commitment to this channel, even as the company's core revenue increasingly depends on industrial polymer PBF-LB and medical-dental applications.

For Stratasys, the practical takeaway is that education serves as a brand-building pipeline for future engineers and buyers, not a near-term revenue driver. Roitenberg's emphasis on software and CAD training reflects a necessary shift: schools need turnkey curricula, not just machines. Competitors like UltiMaker have already bundled lesson plans and certification programs. Stratasys must execute on similar ecosystem depth — or risk losing the next generation of users to cheaper, faster desktop alternatives that integrate more seamlessly into existing STEM workflows.