3D Printing

MakerClub Awarded £80,000 in UK Gov Tech Competition

With £1.1million awarded by the UK Government for its “Learning Technologies: Design for Impact” competition, a handsome sum was claimed by MakerClub — the company based in Brighton won £80,000. MakerClub specializes in 3D printing robotics and became the recipient of the award because of its vision for 3D printing integration of robotics into education. An effort that will be tried and tested in a “trialing” phase that will begin in 2015. The feasibility study awarded the prize will assess code pedagogy, electronics and design using 3D printing, a mobile app and an online learning process.

Simon Riley, the founder of MakerClub laid out their vision, “We’re creating a collaborative online learning platform that works with companion robotic projects. Robots are fantastic cross curricular learning tools and through 3D printing, we can deliver them globally.”

Makerclub Image 1 3d printing

“Rather than the usual ‘step-by-step’ construction guide, we want to create a ‘living’ environment where older ‘makers’ can teach a younger generation of makers through streaming video and live chat, people can upload their own robots for sale and we can play host to intuitive building instructions that are gamified and allow for wiki-style updates by their creators.”
“Our dream would be that someone with no tech experience could use our system and gain the equivalent of a degree in robotics over the course of a year – we hope schools and home learners worldwide will benefit from this research.”

As STEM programs gain momentum on various continents and more people adopt 3D printing, Simon’s dream will invariably become a shared vision.