The Design Studio is an academic makerspace, housed in the Mechanical Engineering Department at University of Delaware, that was co-developed through a multi-year, grassroots effort by the department and its undergraduate study body. It originated in 2012 in a small, under-utilized study room and evolved in stages into its present form as a 5,500 square foot, all-access makerspace, with designated areas for digital manufacture, electronics, carpentry, metal working, wet lab, and mechanical testing. The bulk of the expansions, room renovations, and major equipment purchases were completed on a modest budget ($160k total), drawn primarily from alumni donations and departmental funds. Undergraduate students (the Minions) have been integral to the design, construction, maintenance, and daily operation of the Design Studio since its inception in 2012 to the present. The Minions have grown into a small army of undergraduate assistants, and they rather independently manage safety, inventory, and day-to-day operations under the supervision of two faculty co-directors. The Design Studio is now utilized by nearly 80% of the core courses within the department for labs, design projects, and demos. The space is also the de facto study and collaboration space for the majority of our undergraduate population as well as the home of many of our student organizations. The Design Studio itself is a student-centered design project, and as such, it is inherently a work-in-progress. Therefore, the purpose of this case study is not to prescribe our particular pathway for creating and maintaining an academic makerspace. Rather, we present this case study in the hopes that other institutions with similar design constraints – whether they be space, funding, or staffing – actively engage their own student body (Minions) in creating a makerspace that works in their community.
AUTHORS
|
|
|
