Makerspaces technology enabled, creative spaces that allow individuals to design, prototype, and create physical artifacts, ranging from small electrical parts to towering 3D printers. In recent years, there has been growing interests in the educational potential of ‘Making’ activities, which has resulted in many organizations procuring tools and technologies to built their own Makerspaces. And South Korea is no exception.
Professor James A. Self and his design team from the School of Design and Human Engineering at UNIST recently participated in the Wonder Global Workshop makerspace event, hosted in partnership with Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation and Busan Foreign School (BFS) from October 6 to 7, 2018.
The event, entitled ‘Wonder Global Workshop: DESIGN, THINK, INNOVATE, MAKE‘, is a collaboration amongst Busan city, BFS, Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, WonderLab Makerspaces from Purdue University in the United States, Luxrobo Co., Ltd., and industry partners from WonderLab Busan Center (3D Plus).
The workshop is an initiative of WonderLab, a design technology lab originating from Purdue University under the direction of Professor T. J. Kim, now with an expanding network of makerspaces across the U.S., China, and South Korea. WonderLab Makerspaces aim to provide a design-driven approach for the creation of technology-based maker tools that are accessible, adaptable, and approachable for the creators of the future.
Represented within the photo are teachers from Busan Foreign School and the East Asian Region (China, Philippians, and across Korea), together with industry partners (3DPlus) and UNIST DHE members.
The two-day event saw delegate teachers from international schools across South Korea and the East Asia region actively participate in workshops, talks, and a variety of hands-on sessions, aimed at providing a practical and engaging introduction to the WonderLab Makerspace platform. The workshop consisted of a variety of activities that make use of technology-based maker tools, such as 3D printing, robotics, coding, and 3D CNC fabrication.
The first day, hosted by BFS, saw delegates get hands-on experience in 3D printing, physical computing, coding, and robotics through a series of workshops in collaboration with industry partners. The event’s second day provided keynote presentations by Professor Self (DHE, UNIST), Professor T.J Kim (Purdue University, USA), Mr. Donggyu Kim (Luxrobo Co., Ltd.), and Mr. Sangwon Gu (FAB365 Makerspace).
From left to right: Education Director Donggyu Kim of Luxrobo Co., Ltd, CEO Sanggwon Gu of FAB365 Makerspace, Mr. Sunghwe Kim of 3DPlus, Professor T. J. Kim of Purdue University, and Professor James A. Self of UNIST.
During his keynote, entitled “Make + Learn + Create: Teaching Creative Thinking by Design”, Professor Self presented benchmark case-studies of UNIST’s interdisciplinary design education and projects, as exemplars for Maker-driven creativity and innovation.
“The kinds of design-driven, digitally enabled creative making afforded through the WonderLab platform, have the potential to revolutionize STEM education, with creative design and making playing a key role,” says Professor Self. “This event will work as a platform for further collaborations between UNIST, Busan Foreign School’s own WonderLab, and the growing network of WonderLab Makerspaces across the USA and the Republic of Korea.”
