UNIMAKER is a conference for anyone working or studying in and around Higher Education who loves making, creating, designing, inventing, building and exploring using a range of different tools and materials.
Starting in 2019, this exciting forum attracted delegates from over 20 institutions from across the UK with a diverse and dynamic programme. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, UNIMAKER 2020 went online, attracting over 100 delegates from across the world over two days.
UNIMAKER is open to anyone, from academic staff, students and alumni to technical and professional services staff, whether you are running an established makerspace or just starting out on your making journey.
Be a part of the UNIMAKER community — join us on LinkedIn.
Our Speakers
Dale Dougherty
President of Make: Community
Dale is the President of Make Community LLC. He has been called the “godfather of the Maker movement”, having founded both Make: magazine and the first Maker Faire in 2006. Dale was instrumental in launching the Maker movement that is transforming innovation in industry, hands-on learning in education and the personal lives of makers of all ages. MAKE invites everyone to become a maker, and integrate creative goals with technical skills.
Dale’s vision and mission continue to be the guiding force for the maker movement and its personal impact on improving education and empowering more people to see themselves as creators and innovators using the tools and skills practiced by hobbyists as well as professionals. He wrote the book “Free to Make” in 2016 to provide deeper insight into the ideas and people behind the maker movement. He lives in Sebastopol, California.
Prof Andrew Maxwell
Bergeron Chair in Technology Entrepreneurship at Lassonde School of Engineering
Andrew is the Bergeron Chair in Technology Entrepreneurship at the Lassonde School of Engineering, York University (Toronto), where he teaches courses in technology entrepreneurship, renaissance engineering and technology commercialization. He has received multiple teaching awards, including Educator of the year at Lassonde (2018).
Andrew is the Director of Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (BEST). The BEST program supports entrepreneurial programs and initiatives at Lassonde focused on enabling engineering students to develop business skills and understand what it takes to launch a start up enterprise.
Lauren Baldesarra
Chief Creative Officer at engineering.com
Lauren is the Chief Creative Officer of engineering.com, and Co-Founder of ProjectBoard, the infrastructure that powers Make: Projects. Prior to her current role, Lauren spent over 6 years as a Walt Disney Imagineer in Los Angeles, working on projects including Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride, and EPCOT Master Planning. Lauren also founded Disney’s Moonshot initiative. She has a BFA in Communications Design from Syracuse University.
Dr Matthew Wettergreen
Associate Teaching Professor at the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen at Rice University
Matthew teaches engineering design, including 1st-year engineering design and Prototyping & Fabrication. This practical, hands-on course increases student proficiency in the development of prototypes using low fidelity prototyping, iterative design, and advanced manufacturing tools. In 2017, he contributed to the launch of the first engineering design minor in the US, credentialing students for a course of study in engineering design, teamwork, and client-based projects.
He has a deep interest in engineering education, specifically curriculum that can be employed to build capacity for student development in makerspaces. He has taught and mentored faculty in Brazil, Malawi, and Tanzania to launch makerspaces and work with institutions to develop engineering design curriculum. He is the faculty mentor for Rice’s Design for America chapter, for which he has been given the Hudspeth Award for excellence in student club mentoring.
He has designed a number of academic products that help students improve their prototyping techniques, including a low fidelity prototyping cart and the Laser Cutter Prototyping Library.
Dr Pete Mylon
Senior University Teacher, Academic Lead for the iForge
Pete graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and worked in a mechanical and structural engineering consultancy before returning to Sheffield for his doctoral studies in 2009. His PhD involved designing and building test rigs to simulate medical and surgical procedures.
In 2015, Pete again returned to Sheffield to teach in the University’s brand new Diamond building, creating and delivering practical laboratory classes in dynamics and revolutionising the Engineering Applications teaching in manufacturing technology for first year Engineering students.
In 2017, he worked with a team of students to create The iForge, the UK’s first student-led makerspace. Run by a team of over 40 students, it provides a space for students to learn practical skills and collaborate, both as part of and outside the curriculum, in a relaxed environment, and is developing a global reputation.
In 2018 he was awarded the Early Career Senate Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, and in 2020 became a National Teaching Fellow.
Taylor Dixon
Technical Writer and Teardown Engineer at iFixit.com
Taylor is a teardown engineer at iFixit.com, the world’s largest online repair manual. He has a life-long obsession with technology and has spent most of his life tinkering. He graduated from Utah State University in 2018 with a BA in Technical Writing, relocated to California, and has been working with iFixit ever since.
At iFixit Taylor works with a team of engineers, writers, and video producers to take apart the latest technology, investigate its inner workings, assess its repairability, and then distill their findings into various forms of engaging content. Their videos, blog posts, and repair guides regularly get hundreds of thousands of views.
Dr Alison Buxton
Educational Makerspace Developer at The University of Sheffield
Alison is a Makerspace Developer with the Maker{Futures} programme. She has over 17 years of experience in developing and delivering STEAM and maker education through non-profit organisations, universities, schools and libraries and is an advisory board member for FIRST Lego League. She has a particular interest in under-represented groups in engineering.
Alison leads an Ingenious public engagement project funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering. Maker{Move}: Think like an Engineer trains and supports local engineers from industry and academia to run engineering and maker activities in schools.
Prof Tony Ryan OBE
Director of the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures
Tony leads the University of Sheffield’s programme in sustainability research, across pure and applied sciences, engineering and social sciences.
His focus is on the global food, water and energy nexus challenge, feeding a growing world population, reducing the impacts of agriculture and food production that account for 25-30% of greenhouse gas emissions, and harnessing the power of the sun for food production and renewable energy.
Tony is very active in translational research, disseminating evidence-based science to both experts and non-experts, and has been a regular contributor to TV, Radio, National Press and at learned societies from The Royal Society of Chemistry to Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs. He presented evidence at the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris in 2015 and returned to COP22 in Marrakech in 2016.
Tony delivered the televised Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2002 and was awarded an OBE in 2006 for ‘Services to Science’.
UNIMAKER 2020: Watch Again
Session 1: Environment and Health
Mon 7th September 10:00-12:00 BST
OPENING ADDRESS | Refugees Making the Desert Green — Professor Tony Ryan OBE📧, University of Sheffield
The Maker Response to Covid-19 — Dr Pete Mylon📧, University of Sheffield
Developing a Prosthetic Arm — Thomas Thomas, Nicholas Hagis & Alex Pop, Sheffield Bionics📧
Session 2: Co/Extra-Curricular Making
Mon 7th September 15:00-17:00 BST
Curricular vs. Co-Curricular Projects — Dr Simon Hayes📧, University of Sheffield
Maker{Futures}: maker resources for primary engagement — Dr Alison Buxton📧, University of Sheffield
Lessons from an online IoT Making event during Lockdown — Richard Waterstone📧, SERAS
KEYNOTE | Creating a repair culture; making engaging online content for your makerspace — Taylor Dixon📧, iFixit
Session 3: Knowledge Exchange
Tue 8th September 10:00-12:00 BST
How can makerspaces and maker sessions adapt to Covid-19? What other topics are top of mind? Delegates share their experience and discuss next steps. Discussions are led by Ryan Jones📧 and a team of iForge student Reps
Session 4: Making in the Curriculum
Tue 8th September 15:00-17:00 BST
Fast paced making: Developing confidence in Foundation Year Art and Design students — Marie Judge📧, Sheffield Hallam University
Facilitating online collaboration and building 21st Century skills in students — Avalon Cory📧, University of Exeter
Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen: A hub for undergraduate engineering innovation — Dr Matthew Wettergreen📧
As well as our live sessions, we also have some great content to share with you from the UNIMAKER community:
Ideas Lab – Imperial College, London, UK
A team of students at Imperial College have spent the summer creating the Ideas Lab, a new makerspace linked with Imperial’s Dyson School of Design Engineering. In this video, they outline the software system they have made for the space.
The Delft University of Technology is well known for its successful student competition teams, which they call D:DREAM teams. These include Formula Student, Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering (DARE) and many more. All teams consist of highly motivated students, who are solely responsible for all tasks, from team management to the design and production of their inventions. The D:DREAM Hall, the building on the TU Delft Campus that never sleeps, forms most teams’ home base. This video gives an overview of the D:DREAM programme.
Brandon and Pete visited Delft and the D:DREAM Hall in February 2020 and would highly recommend a visit!
A new academic year has started, which can only mean one thing: a new year full of D-Dream experiences is about to begin! Designing, producing, racing, and sometimes winning are on the agenda for the new team members. But before it all starts, let’s have a look at what it means to be part of the D:DREAM…
MARMIK are a Devon-based machinery company. They have produced the Machine Access Control System for use in workshops and makerspaces, which may be of interest to the UNIMAKER community. It allows individual RFID-based access control to machines.
Lockdown Project: Making a home wind tunnel – Edward J Dawtrey, The University of Sheffield
Ed, a second year aerospace engineering student, decided to build a small wind tunnel over the summer to visualise the effects of air flow and ‘angle of attack’ on various aerofoils. Being on lockdown, Ed only used materials he could find around the house.
The result is impressive! This is a great example of low/medium-fidelity prototyping, ingenuity, and how Making can be used to support theoretical learning.