The topic of our group work was Makers-spaces and how they bridge the divide between college academics and non-college academics, whilst helping develop the community. This is a topic that had been in my mind for a while, ever since I found out that the new student hub would have such a facility.
What bothers me about the fact that it’s in the college is that it takes away the independence that the space could have held. Although having it affiliated with a college means there will most likely always be funding and good facilities and technology, it sadly will make those who are not a member of the college community feel as though it is not their place to use this space. This goes against the whole ideal of what a makers space is but more on that in the paper itself.
I came up with the initial topic and was hoping to do a conversational podcast on it because I felt that would be the best way to make sure everyone got their work done and that we all did and equal amount of work, sadly due to conflicting timetables and some of us not being in Cork we were unable to do so, it was decided that we should take the research we did for the topic and put it into writing whilst including our opinion on the subject. It was then edited by another member of the group and distinguished by font colour. I would have preferred to do more but due to timing this was the extent of what could be achieved. Maker spaces have always been very important to me, they were where I first learnt how to use a laser cutter and 3D printer, we often held events there on culture night and during campaigns it was a frequent meeting place and area used for canvassing training. These areas are so important for the communities in which they are situated and it seems a shame to be that we will have one in college that is A not more well known about and B will make those not attending college feel alienated from the space unless serious work is done to incorporate the local community well.
