The speed in which we can manifest our ideas is increasing exponentially, technological advancements are increasing exponentially, education is…
China holds the reputation for low cost manufacturing worldwide, and the government-led initiative "Made in China 2025" – seeking to boost manufacturing and nurture talent in the sector - could lead to a strong culture of makers in China. This could be a great demonstration of creative investment, but where will all this money go? True innovation will come from engaging and preparing the next generation for technologies and materials which haven’t been invented yet, but will exist in 2025.
The kids engaging with making in Shenzhen and Shanghai were truly inspiring; it’s meeting them that I want to share with you.
Shanghai’s Maker Carnival felt like a playground for both kids and adults, showcasing what individuals had been making this year. From small companies to schools and hobbyists, what most impressed me were the mechanical and electronic sophisitaction of some of the kid’s projects. At 8-14 years old their abilities easily surpass my making skill set at that age.
I spoke with Yan Zeyuan who trained as an engineer but now works in sales. He has his own makerspace at home and has continued to make from a young age, now selling his clock design with Nixie Tubes as the display. We spoke about what we felt we would have benefited learning at a young age and what he would be teaching his 2 children (1 and 4 years old) who I’m sure will be super-makers with a dad like Yan. Like Yan I was also lucky enough to grow up with a makerspace in my garage; my dad taught me valuable craft based making which lead me towards a career within design. Of course my skill set was limited by what my dad could teach me, at that critical age where it’s much easier to start picking other skills like electronics and software, I believe this is where schools and makerspaces come in.
We visited Open Make at Shenzhen American International School’s makerspace. These 8-14 year old kids were learning skills which I wasn’t taught until university; design process (image below), brainstorming ideas, selecting the best concepts and prototyping, concept presenting, critical feedback, iteration and documenting. We spoke with teacher Carrie Leung who echoed the importance of adopting these methods at a young age;
“Being able to collaborate, present, manage a project, manage time and civilly disagree are very important, these are all things that I never learnt in school but I defiantly had to learn in the workplace. I feel that the whole spirit of the maker movement really does this naturally”.
This visit was a perfect example of why investment must go towards design education, and researching what models are best to educate on design at such a young age. All school should have internal makerspaces, with the necessary mentoring and technical support. As well as designing new makerspaces which facilitate and welcome all ages, we can enable smooth transitions post-school and nurture future communities of makers.
This trip has sparked a fascination of the potential to advance the adolescent mind. I wonder what techniques I would have gained from the ability to work with CAD and programming software from a young age.
The diagram below briefly illustrates what I believe is now a vital skill set for future makers; the infusion of hardware and software, with design thinking at the core. A career may lead to the mastery of one but experience of all is essential for understanding, creating and communicating with the field of innovation.
The innovation impact of "Made in China 2025" is inevitable. It has the ability to not only transform the economy but also to have creative influence on humanity. With the global maker movement growing rapidly, understanding and experiencing this potential cultural shift over the last couple of weeks has been incredibly valuable to me. It was an honour to share this experience with such great academic and maker minds from both UK and China.
Joel is a participant on 'Living Research: Making in China', helping us to understand Chinese maker culture through practical creativity and collaboration.