Meet the Makers: Using Creativity to Overcome Real-World Challenges

Around campus, Radford University has places for students and faculty to devise solutions to the problems of a modern world. These unique places house the Maker community on campus.

Radford was named a Make School by the Make School Alliance in 2016, joining 47 other colleges and universities, such as Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Yale and Penn State, to earn that designation.

The MakerSpaces, where the modern solutions are created, are located inside Peery Hall, the Department of Design Make Lab and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning New Media Center. Some of the materials inside the spaces include 3D printing and design, programming and microcontrollers, electronics, power and hand tools, e-textiles, fabrics and multimedia.

The MakerSpaces allow for faculty and staff to collaborate — outside and inside of the classroom — to enhance learning through practical hands-on experience.

Radford has a freshman learning community built around the existing Maker community and lifestyle. The living-learning community in Peery Hall is open to all incoming freshman at Radford, regardless of their major.

“They will have greater access to the makerspace than the general student population,” said Physics Professor Rhett Herman. “They have workshops during the semester that teach them design, thinking, process and technical skills that most people don’t have the opportunity to learn while in college.”

Herman said that the living-learning community looks for creative students — ones who identify a problem and create a solution.

“The presence of two interdisciplinary, campus-wide MakerSpaces — the New Media Center and the Peery MakerSpace — along with the interdisciplinary livinglearning community, reinforce the broad scope of our Maker movement,” said Assistant Vice Provost of High Impact Practices and Professor of Sociology Jeanne Mekolichick.

Through community outreach, Radford University faculty and students also work with local schools.

“Society needs graduates who are prepared to work in diverse teams, understand how to approach complex problems, communicate outside of their discipline area and understand the value of failure,” Mekolichick said.

Students who adopt the Maker mindset will see themselves as creators, problem solvers and team members. Radford students will also have tangible products to present potential employers.

“This is the power and impact that the Maker movement can have on our students,” Mekolichick said. ■