University-Based Makerspaces: a Source of Innovation

Technology and Innovation, Vol. 19, pp. 389-395, 2017 ISSN 1949-8241 • E-ISSN 1949-825X Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.21300/19.1.2017.389 Copyright © 2017 National Academy of Inventors. www.technologyandinnovation.org UNIVERSITY-BASED MAKERSPACES: A SOURCE OF INNOVATION Shane Farritor Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA Makerspaces are becoming more common on university campuses, but there is great variation in what constitutes a makerspace. On some campuses, many departmental classroom laboratories are being renamed or repurposed as makerspaces. Alternatively, other colleges are creating college-wide makerspaces for their students, and a few universities are even creating makerspaces for their entire campuses or their entire communities. This paper presents the idea that university makerspaces can be a great source of innovation if they are properly conceived. Makerspaces that seek to create innovation should have certain characteristics. However, many of these characteristics do not come naturally to university-based makerspaces. Instead, a deliberate effort must be made to help promote innovation from a makerspace. In fact, many makerspace models inadvertently and explicitly exclude characteristics that are important to innovation. For example, a makerspace that is created by an engineering college might be more innovative if it allowed the use of the space by students outside of engineering (e.g., art, history, business). Making this happen might require a different funding structure or a different physical location for the makerspace. Of course, no direct recipe or checklist exists that will ensure innovation. However, this paper lists characteristics that should be considered when designing or operating a makerspace. It is suggested that these characteristics will lead to increased makerspace innovation. The goal of this paper is to make makerspace administrators and participants aware of characteristics of the space that may lead to increased innovation. Key words: Makerspace; Making; Innovation; Hardware; Entrepreneurship BACKGROUND often focus on encouraging creativity, interdis- Makerspaces are a growing trend across the world ciplinary collaboration, entrepreneurship, and/or and are increasingly appearing on university cam- experiential education. There are many types of uni- puses (1-5). The White House under President Obama versity makerspaces (3), ranging from teaching labs established an initiative to encourage more making renamed as makerspaces to large multidisciplinary opportunities for university students (6). A maker- makerspaces, with Case Western’s Sears think[box] space (sometimes referred to as a fab lab, hobby shop, being an excellent example of the latter (7). This paper or hackerspace) is a physical space where individuals will focus on issues to be considered if the goal of the can build and create. University-based makerspaces university makerspace is to promote innovation. _____________________ Accepted April 15, 2017. Address correspondence to Shane Farritor, David & Nancy Lederer Professor, W358 Nebraska Hall, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0656, USA. Tel: +1 (402) 472-5805; Fax +1 (402) 472-1465. Email: [email protected] 389 390 FARRITOR A good makerspace has both a physical space and students participate in makerspaces to gain access a community. The physical space contains specialized to specialized equipment, collaborate with students tools and equipment (e.g., 3D printers, laser cutters, with similar creative interests, and take non-degree computer controlled embroidery machines, machin- classes. ing centers) that allow students to create projects that This paper presents the idea that certain character- they are passionate about. There are many models for istics of a makerspace can promote innovation. The governing access to the physical space, most of which following sections describe those characteristics. The are based on a membership. Typically, membership premise is twofold: Makerspaces can be strong sources requires some safety training and a contribution to of innovation, and makerspaces that have more of the space (e.g., membership fee, time commitment). the characteristics outlined below will generate more Some makerspaces have formal training and a formal innovative ideas and products. staff to operate and maintain the space, while other makerspaces are completely self-organized and are IMPORTANT ELEMENTS FOR INNOVATIVE operated by members. More information is available MAKERSPACES on the functioning of makerspaces, including for- Two important basic elements that lead to more profit makerspaces (1), makerspaces in libraries (8), innovation in a makerspace are intrinsic motivation and university makerspaces (5,9). These interactive and unstructured activity, and these elements are makerspaces can also foster a community by creating distinct from much of the university experience for other modes of interaction, such as classes or activi- students. ties. Being part of such a community can expand and improve the student’s education through outside-of- Intrinsic Motivation the-classroom experiential learning. This article distinguishes makerspaces from Intrinsic motivation, as opposed to extrinsic moti- traditional classroom laboratories in that students vation, refers to behavior that is driven by internal participate in makerspaces of their own accord and rewards rather than rewards coming from another are self-directed. Traditional classes often require source. In some ways, simply attending college students to attend lab sessions to perform predeter- requires intrinsic motivation, as the student does mined work, and the students are assigned grades not need to attend college. However, in reality, the based on the outcomes of this activity. This type of day to day activities and the specific actions taken by activity is not here considered makerspace activity. students are largely driven by external requirements Here, activity in makerspaces is generally outside the and therefore are extrinsically motivated. Homework traditional academic setting. In makerspaces, students assignments, class times and attendance, and exams are self-motivated rather than motivated by grades are requirements that aren’t generated by the student. or degree requirements. Furthermore, most degree programs have a very spe- Campus recreational facilities are a better analogy cific list of required courses. These required courses for describing a makerspace than traditional class- may have some flexibility, such as an engineering room laboratories. Campus recreation is to fitness program requiring two to three humanities electives. what a makerspace can be to creativity. Students However, even these flexible electives often require can participate in a campus recreational facility and students to choose from another list of approved gain access to specialized equipment (e.g., weight courses to fulfill the requirement. The result is that room, gym, pool), collaborate with students with most of a student’s academic energy is focused on similar interests (e.g., pick-up basketball), and take satisfying the externally imposed requirements to non-degree classes (e.g., spinning classes, rock climb- obtain a degree. ing classes). All of these activities are focused on However, it has been shown that intrinsic motiva- enhancing students’ fitness. Students are not required tion is important for increased innovative thinking to participate; they only come to campus recreational (10,11). When someone originates a project and/or centers to pursue their passions and do things they is self-motivated to solve a problem, more innovative love. They go to improve themselves. In the same way, results are possible. Passion and excitement for the UNIVERSITY-BASED MAKERSPACES 391 problem will lead to different thinking. Pink points solution to a problem cannot be an innovative to several open source examples, such as Wikipedia, solution to that problem. Working on unstructured where every contribution is provided by users who are problems allows the student to challenge assumptions, almost exclusively not paid for the work and where restructure the problem, and find new paths to a intrinsic motivation has led to better and more inno- solution. This also ties to the unstructured time set vative results than a traditional approach (10). Users aside for 3M and Google employees. post on Wikipedia because they are passionate about Because unscripted thinking is central to innova- the subject they are describing. Pink also points to tive thought, university makerspaces should have a 3M’s “15% time” and then later Google’s use of “20% significant amount of time for students to work on time.” These companies allow their employees to work unstructured activity. They should not, for example, on their own projects about one day per week (i.e., focus on structured classroom laboratory activities 20% of their time). These employees pursue new proj- but should instead allow users to explore and tinker ects that they are individually passionate about, and without a defined outcome. this has been the source of several important products for these companies. Pink outlines how intrinsic ENCOURAGING INNOVATION IN A motivation is especially important for creative tasks. MAKERSPACE The research on self-motivation suggests that uni- Substantial evidence suggests that the culture versity

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