Funding received for a NEW student Repair & Maker community

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A newly approved project at UWE Engineering, will bring students together with local people to work on community projects. From solving community-generated problems, to fixing broken goods, the ‘Making And Knowledge Exchange for Repair & Sustainability’ – MAKERS project – it launches this month to create a purposeful & practical space for student creativity & skill development with informal mentoring.

This collaborative setup between students and community groups from Easton, Eastville and St Pauls, is designed to help students from all backgrounds feel a sense of belonging and for them to grow & develop their engineering passions.

The MAKERS project is being supported with nearly £90,000 of funds from the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Diversity Impact Programme, which aims to inspire change within university engineering departments.

Grant winner, Dr Laura Fogg-Rogers, UWE Bristol Associate Professor for Engineering in Society, said: “We’re looking forward to launching the MAKERS project with communities in Bristol next year, thanks to the funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering.

“For UWE Bristol, it offers our diverse engineering students the opportunity to add value to the area by working together in a purposeful and practical environment and to develop peer support and friendship. They will gain practical skills and informal mentoring by working alongside inter-generational community members, recruited through Bristol Repair Café network and industry STEM Ambassadors.

“Every year, we throw away huge amounts, even items which have very little wrong with them, which could easily be used again after a simple repair. As well as being better for the environment and promoting sustainability, this scheme will save people money, share repair skills that are being lost, and bring the local community together.”

Inclusion & Diversity

The Makers project builds on UWE Engineering’s growing reputation for supporting representation and belonging in engineering for Women and people from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic groups, alongside inter-sectional backgrounds of lower socio-economic status – recognised in TV coverage last year- read more in this BBC article or watch the short BBC Points West clip.

Women make up only 16% of engineers, and those from minority backgrounds make up only 7% of engineers in employment. Research indicates being part of a minority may mean students feel out of place, isolated, or unable to reveal or fulfil their complete identity, resulting in lower recruitment rates, degree non-completion, lower salaries, and ultimately higher rates of leaving engineering.

This project draws on the fact that STEM activities drawing on wider societal or environmental purposes (communal goals) are more attractive to women. And that Maker projects have been shown to encourage engagement for other minorities. This sits alongside the Climate and Ecological Emergency, with UWE students indicating a desire to make a difference locally.

Kate Corbett is a volunteer at the repair café at The Old Library in Eastville. She said: “We are delighted to be part of the MAKERS project, which not only addresses the climate crisis, but also the lack of diversity in engineering. Our monthly Repair Café has become well established since we first set it up early in 2022, showing that there was a real demand for it: people do not only come to get their items fixed (many of which have a very sentimental value), but also to learn new repair skills, or simply enjoy a cup of tea in the café whilst waiting for their turn. Our repairers have also formed a real community and regularly support each other with the repairs. There is immense social and environmental value in the Repair Café movement, and we are excited to be working with UWE Bristol to help grow it further.”

Student Engineers already use the Schools of Engineering’s atrium for projects tackling real-world problems – now this could become the location for the MAKERS community

MAKERS aims to support students to develop their own projects which align with their full identity e.g. textiles, art and design, digital engineering, or DIY maintenance. Drawing on multiple identities is predicted to help improve belonging, agency, and retention in engineering.

Repair the environment

By encouraging and enabling repair, the MAKERS project at UWE, has obvious environmental benefits and is one of many such community initiatives needed to address the Climate and Ecological Emergency.

UWE Bristol student engineers will also be working with Baggator, a Community Centre in Easton. Stuart Phelps, Chair of Trustees, added: “This is a brilliant opportunity to share skills, build links, and repair things people value. At a time when so many of our friends and neighbours are struggling to make ends meet, MAKERS will help them by giving new life to valued things; make new friendships between the University and Easton; and remove things from landfill. A real, living, example of the circular economy where it’s needed most.”

We’re excited for the new MAKERS space to start taking shape in March 2023 – and we’ll keep you informed here of any developments. If you or your community group would like to get involved, please contact the team on engineeringourfuture@uwe.ac.uk.

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