Changes

Though it is beneficial to have a student-led makerspace, faculty support is crucial for the initiative to be launched and sustained. In the case where only one advisor is selected to oversee the entire space, it may be helpful to choose someone with a passion for innovation over someone with great technical skills. An advisor’s role will largely be to consult with and advocate for the makerspace. Though it would be ideal for the advisor to know how to work the tools in the makerspace, the advisor will not likely need this kind of knowledge.<br/><br/>The implementation of a makerspace panel, with advisors from various disciplines and areas of the school, is an efficient and productive system used by schools such as Michigan Tech. The panel includes people from computer science to biology to engineering as well as people from facilities management and campus safety. A panel dynamic nurtures collaboration for decisions regarding the makerspace. Because the panel can have face-to-face meetings set at a predetermined time every month, this setup cuts down on seemingly infinite email strings of communication. The combination of perspectives from different areas of the school bring a fresh and productive dynamic to the makerspace.