The makerspace community in the UK has been growing rapidly, and many universities are seeing the benefits to their students of academic makerspaces. UNIMAKER is a chance to gather people from across the UK and beyond who run makerspaces, are interested in makerspaces, or are just starting out on their makerspace journey.
Come and be a part of this growing community; see The iForge, the UK’s first student-led makerspace; share what you are doing; and learn from global leaders in the makerspace movement!
You can find more information about the event here.
Agenda
| 12th September | ||
|---|---|---|
| Time | Session | Speaker |
| 9.00am | Registration | |
| 9.30am | Introductory Talk Welcome to the University of Sheffield and introduction to some of the themes of the forum. | Prof. Stephen Beck – Head of Multidisciplinary Engineering Education at the University of Sheffield |
| 10.00am | The iForge Story Having started the iForge in 2017, some of our founding Reps have come back to talk about how it came about. | iForge Founding Reps |
| 10.15am | Q&A An opportunity to ask the iForge founding team about their experiences with The iForge and beyond. | iForge Founding Reps Pete Mylon, Academic Lead, The iForge Ryan Jones, Technical Lead, The iForge |
| 10.45am | Break There will be an opportunity to tour The iForge and The Diamond, and to explore the exhibition space. | |
| 11.15am | Makerspaces Beyond the Curriculum An exploration of the ways makerspaces can support extracurricular learning, public engagement and outreach, including an introduction to Hackcessible, the assistive technology hackathon. | Aejaz Zahid, Innovation Hub – SYB Integrated Care System |
| 12.15pm | Lunch Break | |
| 1.15pm | Keynote Speech Craig Forest, founder of The Invention Studio at Georgia Tech, will deliver this keynote speech detailing how the facility has taken on a life and culture of its own, far beyond a capstone design prototyping lab. | Craig Forest |
| 2.30pm | Setting up and Running a Makerspace An opportunity to discuss various topics related to the setting up and running of a student-led makerspace, including training and supervision, equipment selection, and funding, with insight from students and staff. | Pete Mylon, Ryan Jones and iForge Student Reps |
| 3.30pm | Employability Opportunities How can makerspaces engage employers and contribute to creating more employable graduates? | Courtney Algar, Dyson |
| 4.30pm | Drinks Reception | Mike Hounslow |
| 13th September | ||
| 9.00am | Breakfast | |
| 9.15am | Workshop Craig will help those starting out on their makerspace journey with insights into: the different types of makerspaces, the importance of culture and community, optimising access while minimising boundaries, creating effective safety systems, assessing impact, and more. | Craig Forest |
| 10.30am | Break There will be an opportunity to tour The iForge and The Diamond, and to explore the exhibition space. | |
| 11.00am | Workshop Continued | Craig Forest |
| 12.00pm | Lunch | |
| 1.00pm | Talk – The Institute of Making Having co-founded the Institute of Making at UCL in 2013, Zoe will share some of their journey, and lessons learned along the way. | Zoe Laughlin |
| 2.00pm | Break | |
| 2.30pm | Quick fire presentations followed by Q&A This will be an opportunity for a range of delegates to briefly share what they are doing around makerspaces so that we can learn from each other and develop a supportive community across UK higher education. | |
| 3.30pm | Closing Speeches Pete will draw together the various themes emerging from the forum and discuss next steps for the HE makerspace community. | Pete Mylon |
