Making and knowledge exchange for repair and sustainability
Fogg Rogers, Laura; Butchers, Joe; Lewis, Hollie; Corbett, Kat
Authors
Dr Laura Fogg Rogers Laura.Foggrogers@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor of Knowledge Exchange in Engineering
Joe Butchers Joe.Butchers@uwe.ac.uk
Lecturer in Engineering Principles
Hollie Lewis
Kat Corbett
Abstract
The MAKERS project at UWE Bristol enhances belonging among diverse engineering students through sustainability and repair activities, whilst tackling the Climate and Ecological Emergency in partnership with local communities.
Launched in 2023, a monthly on-campus Repair Café teaches and promotes hands-on repair of broken objects, whilst fostering practical skills and employability for students. This enhances identity development as engineers, while also tackling social isolation. Wider community engagement with local hubs aimed to support sustainable communities with a Just Transition through skills development and youth education.
Making and Tinkering are core skills for engineers and provide ways to enhance diversity in engineering through boosting belonging, employability, and identity cohesion as engineers. Our own research indicated that students enhanced their motivation and confidence in engineering, formed friendships to reduce social isolation, and felt welcomed to share their other identities through sewing, textiles, and community Maker projects. This research has been presented at the International Symposium on Academic Maker Spaces 2024 and the Science in Public 2024 conferences. We intend to further write up our evaluation during this new project to publish in a journal such as the European Journal of Engineering Education.
The project reached underserved groups; out of 30 regular student participants, 32% were women (compared to 16% in engineering) and 77% were from Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic backgrounds. Repairs undertaken as part of MAKERS have prevented 248kg of waste and 1.6 tons of CO2 emissions. MAKERS also co-developed projects with 17 organisations and delivered repair and making workshops to more than 70 people from the community. The project has been shortlisted for a Green Gown Award in the Benefitting Society category, alongside several regional media stories and sustainability conferences.
The MAKERS team developed projects which brought students together in a purposeful and practical environment, enabling student community formation to generate peer support and friendship. Students also added value to communities, solving community-generated problems and fixing broken goods. Students gained practical skills and informal mentoring by working alongside inter-generational community members, recruited through Bristol Repair Café network and industry STEM Ambassadors. The project also supported student agency to develop their own projects which aligned with their full identity e.g. textiles, art and design, digital engineering, or DIY maintenance. The project therefore enabled staff and students to take Climate Action by contributing to the sustainability-focussed Bristol Repair Café movement.
