The typical methods of educating people are dead in my eyes. I have believed this for a while. I was never a fan of organized school. It hurts the soul, and I personally find it dreadful. Sitting in a class having someone dictate your rate of learning has never worked for me. The internet helps in letting you approach learning in a different manner. There are a wide variety of alternative learning methods that have popped up within recent years, and I would like to discuss some of them. In this article, I will be talking about Makerversity as an organization that helps people grow in a different way.
Makerversity was started by four designers: Andy, Joe, Paul, and Tom. They were given the opportunity to handle 2000 sq m of unused and derelict space. This was all within the lower floors of Somerset House in London. Somerset House is known as London’s working arts center. This is in the heart of the city. They are a centrally located home for a part of the UK’s creative community.
A lack of space for makers in central London translates into a lack of opportunities for young people to get excited about making, Makerversity was created to ameliorate this. The team then formulated the space through various remodeling work. Within a year, in 2014, the area was turned into a huge creative center for various businesses and makers within the London community.
The philosophy behind Makerversity is simple: Their mission is to inspire and support makers and grow communities of maker businesses in city centers around the world. They do this through different means. They firstly build and run awesome spaces for professional makers. This combines co-working areas with both clean and messy workshop spaces. These are equipped with various machines and tools needed to create. There is consistently a focus on people for Makerversity. The community is filled with different disciplines and areas of creative and technical expertise. Secondly, they have learning programs for younger people. The goal of this is to inspire a new generation of creative and practical minds. This will ideally increase diversity within creative industries.
The organization is able to focus on the growth of people at its core through various activities they run. Makerversity has a select program of workshops, talks, and events that are available to members of the organization. This helps to enrich a member within their experience, and it can tailor their experience to what they want out of being a member at Makerversity. These activities are typically focused on practicality and implementation. This is vital for anyone who is a maker as being able to have tangible results is vital. The space has access to a wood workshop, a digital workshop, a textile workshop, an engineering workshop, a sound studio, as well as an assembly space. This reinforces the practicality embedded within the environment.
This institution is a pricey one, but compared to a typical university, it has a lot to offer. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn how to do stuff. I loved my own university experience, but if I had known about options available to me such as this, I would have gladly not went to school.