Making as Learning: Makerspaces in Universities

Abstract

Makerspaces are more than just places to make things; a makerspace is ‘a physical location where people gather to share resources and knowledge, work on projects, network, and build’. The NMC Horizon Report: 2015 Higher Education Edition lists the time-to-adoption of makerspaces within the higher education context, as two to three years. While there is a push to include makerspaces in universities, little is known about the experience of establishing makerspaces on academic campuses. This paper provides an exploratory look at makerspaces within universities and aims to specifically address the research question: What are the experiences of Australian universities with makerspaces? A qualitative approach to data collection was undertaken by reviewing Australian university websites. Makerspaces are noted in 12 of 43 Australian universities websites (October 2015). Typically, these makerspaces employ specialist staff, contain 3D printers and laser cutters, and offer facilities to conduct coursework, personal and collaborative projects. Finally, pop-up makerspaces have been employed by some universities as an exploratory stage to gauge interest in makerspaces before implementing a permanent space. Surveying key stakeholders associated with Australian academic makerspaces is recommended as a next step.

Keywords:

• Makerspaces
• universities

Implications for best practice

•	The findings from this study have the potential to inform stakeholders of the experience of Australian universities with makerspaces by providing an understanding of the staffing models, activities undertaken and equipment located in Australian university makerspaces.
•	Before advocating for a makerspace, it is important to ensure agreement of the mission amongst stakeholders and then create a space around that mission.

Introduction

The idea of having a place to make things isn’t new. Workshops, garages, studios, sewing rooms and backyards have long been spaces for making. The term makerspace though, has only been in use since the publication of Make: magazine in 2005, and the subsequent launch of Maker Faire, an event that demonstrated the popularity of making and showcased new technologies (Maker Media, 2015). These events precipitated the ‘Maker Movement’ and the advent of makerspaces. It is important to note that a makerspace is more than just a place to make things; a makerspace is ‘a physical location where people gather to share resources and knowledge, work on projects, network, and build’ (Educause, 2013). Makerspaces are ‘making’ within a collaborative environment. While experienced mentors may be present some of the time, beginners often obtain assistance from other members (Educause, 2013). Makerspaces are also known as hackerspaces, hack labs and fab labs. While each term may have a slightly different focus, all provide opportunities for informal, hands-on learning.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2015 Higher Education Edition lists the time-to-adoption of makerspaces within the higher education context, as two to three years (Johnson et al., 2015). While there is a push to include makerspaces in universities, little is known about the impact and sustainability of establishing makerspaces on academic campuses. Limited empirical research has been conducted on the topic and even less regarding the experience of Australian universities with makerspaces.

The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) is a regional Australian university offering on-campus and flexible learning programms. It has four campuses servicing Queensland’s Darling Downs and Fraser Coast regions and Brisbane’s Western Corridor with its main campus located in Toowoomba. USQ has over 28,000 students studying a diverse range of courses and 1600 staff (Universities Australia, 2015a). By ensuring that higher education is accessible to people irrespective of their circumstances or where they live, USQ aims to contribute to the building of human and social capital (Universities Australia, 2015a). Aligning with this strategy, USQ has recently opened a makerspace at its Toowoomba campus and this project will help inform the direction of the space.

This paper will provide an exploratory look at makerspaces in Australian universities and aims to specifically address the research question: What are the experiences of Australian universities with makerspaces? An audit of Australian university websites will provide a snapshot of the makerspace landscape and add to knowledge of makerspaces on Australian university campuses. The following items were considered outside the scope of the virtual audit:

•	Makerspaces that are not located on the university’s campus.
•	Information not publicly available from university websites.

This paper begins with a brief review of literature concerning university makerspaces, concentrating on learning through making, makerspace missions and academic libraries. The qualitative method employed to conduct a search of Australian university websites is explained and the results displayed. Next, a discussion of the findings and limitations of the project, concluding with some recommendations for further research.

A brief review of literature

This section looks at makerspaces in universities and explores the themes of why makerspaces are important places for learning, the importance of establishing the mission of the makerspace and the experience of makerspaces in academic libraries. This review concentrates on peer reviewed, empirical research from the past three years but does also look more broadly at literature from trade journals. There is currently limited empirical research available on makerspaces within universities. However, as makerspaces become more common, the pool of literature is expanding.

Making as learning

Makerspaces provide opportunities for students to engage in hands-on creation in a collaborative environment. According to Papert’s theory of learning (constructionism), the ‘construction of knowledge happens remarkably well when students build, make, and publicly share objects’ (Blikstein, 2013, p. 5). In addition, ‘problem-based learning exercises are an excellent way for students to build and reinforce their knowledge’ (Burke, 2015). The Invention Studio, at the Georgia Institute of Technology, United States, is demonstrating the value and sustainability of hands-on, design build education (Forest et al., 2014, p. 24). This is supported by the alumni survey in which over 90% of respondents indicated that the Invention Studio had a somewhat, or very positive impact, on alumni’s design skills (Forest et al., 2014, p. 21). While the Invention Studio is intimately linked to the curriculum, it does strongly encourage personal projects (Forest et al., 2014, p. 7). Burke (2015, p. 497) agrees that by allowing students the opportunity to experiment, makerspaces provide alternative learning situations outside the classroom.

Makerspace missions

The purpose of a makerspace needs to be communicated by those advocating for its creation. Wilczynski (2015, p. 15) contends that the mission of the makerspace must be clearly articulated from the start and once stipulated the space should then be created around that mission. ‘While the focus is often on technology, makerspaces more generally concentrate on creation’ (Slatter & Howard, 2013, p. 273). The principle of making within a community environment is central to all makerspaces although the focus varies between universities. The following are some examples of that variety:

•	Technology – exposure to new technologies and developing related skills – Southern New Hampshire University (Harris & Cooper, 2015).
•	Collaboration – co-locating researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs together to encourage entrepreneurial activities and technology transfer – University of Connecticut (Barrett et al., 2015).
•	Student driven – asking students what they were interested in making, and then reaching out to faculty and staff to teach workshops – College of San Mateo (Burke, 2015).
•	Small business – helping students turn their ideas into business – Kent State University-Tuscarawas (Burke, 2015).

Academic libraries

While makerspaces are commonly found in engineering and design faculties on university campuses, the interest in makerspace services within academic libraries is ‘steady and substantial’ (Altman, Bernhardt, Horowitz, Lu, & Shapiro, 2015, p. 14). This conclusion arose from a recent survey of members from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The survey indicated that makerspaces were of significant interest to ARL libraries, as 64% of respondents were currently engaged with makerspace deployment and 11% had plans to investigate these services (Altman et al., 2015, p. 12). However, this assertion is based on 64 responses from 124 ARL member libraries (52%).

As spaces within academic libraries are strategically assessed, and as renovations occur, opportunities arise to implement makerspaces. Lippincott and Duckett (2013) argue that campus priorities such as teaching and learning should be considered when implementing new spaces, and that librarians should move beyond library-centric thinking. However, by mapping existing campus makerspaces services, libraries have the opportunity to identify access or service gaps that they can fill, either independently or collaboratively (Altman et al., 2015).

Burke (2015) conducted a survey of 34 academic librarians in 2013 and the following four responses were the most highly ranked replies given by librarians, when people ask why the library has a makerspace:

(1)	supporting learning,
(2)	providing access,
(3)	encouraging collaboration,
(4)	following the library’s mission (Burke, 2015, p. 501).

Being accessible to all students on campus, academic libraries are uniquely placed to provide spaces that encourage creation and creativity. The mission of libraries to provide patrons with access to technologies and resources that they may otherwise find unaffordable is consistent with the goal of makerspaces (Burke, 2015, p. 501). Also, academic libraries provide neutral ground for all departments (Harris & Cooper, 2015, p. 7) given the interdisciplinary nature of most academic libraries.

Makerspaces are becoming more common in higher educational settings. While the pool of literature is growing, it tends to look at makerspaces from the perspective of engineering faculties (Barrett et al., 2015; Forest et al., 2014; Levy et al., 2015; Wilczynski, 2015) or academic libraries (Altman, 2015; Burke, 2015; Moorefield-Lang, 2015) with the focus primarily concerned with makerspaces in the United States. A gap exists in the literature with regards to makerspaces within Australian universities. A holistic approach to understanding the experience of makerspaces on university campuses is required. A review of makerspaces within Australian universities assists in filling this gap. This research project aims to provide a snapshot of makerspaces within Australian universities and add to the knowledge of makerspaces within the academic context more generally.

Research approach

A qualitative approach to data collection was undertaken to explore the experiences of Australian universities with makerspaces. An examination of the content on each Australian university website was conducted to source information concerning makerspaces. This process involved three main steps:

(1)	Sourcing the names and websites of Australian universities.
(2)	Searching each university website for content relating to makerspaces and entering relevant details into a template.
(3)	Collating and analysing the information collected.

A total of 43 Australian university websites were reviewed during this project. Of the 43 universities in Australia, 40 are classed as Australian universities, two are international and one a private specialty university (Australian Government, Australian Trade Commission, n.d.). Each university was assigned a unique number and this key is used when displaying information. Refer to Table A1 in Appendix A for further details. The names and website addresses were sourced from the National Register of higher education providers (Australian Government, Tertiary Education Quality & Standards Agency, 2015).

The process of locating pertinent information involved both searching by keywords and browsing webpages. The six keys words – makerspace, ‘maker space’, hackerspace, ‘hack lab’, fablab and ‘fab lab’ – were entered into each of the 43 Australian websites. The process was repeated using the google advanced search function ‘site:’ as a means of validation (e.g. makerspace site: usq.edu.au was used to search the USQ domain for the term makerspace). Browsing was also used as a method to locate information on websites especially if the page included links to other pages. The searching process proved to be iterative as the template was refined. Data were collected over a five-week period, from 15 September–20 October 2015.

A template, as shown in Appendix B, Table A2, was employed to provide a consistent approach to data collection from each university website. The amount of information on each website relating to makerspaces varied between universities. It was often not possible to obtain an answer to every question and for some makerspaces very little information was available. Inference of information was often required and this is a major limitation of this study. The information on each template was consolidated into a master spreadsheet for evaluation. Information that might be found on university intranets, restricted pages or pages requiring personal details to be entered (such as providing email addresses for newsletters) was not included in this study.

Results

This section outlines the findings from the virtual audit of Australian university websites and seeks to provide information regarding the experience of Australian universities with makerspaces. A review of Australia’s 43 university websites revealed that 12 universities have makerspaces including three universities that have two spaces – University of New South Wales, University of Sydney and Monash University. The makerspace landscape within Australian universities is rapidly changing as one-third (5 of 15) have commenced operation this year. Also, Macquarie University and University of Canberra both indicate that they are investigating implementing a makerspace in the near future. Refer to Table 1 for a list of makerspaces within Australian universities.

Table 1. Makerspaces in Australian universities.

Key	University	State	Year opened	Makerspace	Location	URL
1	Australian National University	ACT	Unknown	Digital Fabrication Lab	School of Art	http://soa.anu.edu.au/furniture/digital-fabrication-lab
8.1	University of New South Wales	NSW	2015	Makerspace (MCIC)	Michael Crouch Innovation Centre, Materials Science Building, Kensington Campus	http://www.mcic.unsw.edu.au
8.2	University of New South Wales	NSW	Unknown	Makerspace	UNSW Art & Design, Paddington Campus	https://www.artdesign.unsw.edu.au/campus/makerspace
9	University of Newcastle	NSW	2012	Makerspace	Electrical Engineering Building	http://www.newcastle.edu.au/degrees/bachelor-of-engineering-honours-telecommunications/why-study-with-us
10.1	The University of Sydney	NSW	Unknown	Sydney Invention Studio	Engineering Link Building	http://sydney.edu.au/stem/facilities/index.shtml
10.2	The University of Sydney	NSW	Unknown	Design Modelling and Fabrication Laboratory	Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning	http://sydney.edu.au/architecture/dmaf/#/
11	University of Technology Sydney	NSW	Unknown	Fabrication Workshop	Design, Architecture and Building	http://www.uts.edu.au/future-students/design-architecture-and-building/about-dab/world-class-facilities/design-facilitie-2
12	University of Western Sydney	NSW	Unknown	MakerSpace	School of Computing, Engineering & Mathematics	http://www.westernsydney.edu.au/scem/school_of_computing_engineering_and_mathematics/makerspace
15	Bond University	QLD	Unknown	Architecture Fabrication & Research Laboratory	Abedian School of Architecture	https://bond.edu.au/about-bond/facilities-services/teaching-facilities/abedian-school-architecture-building
20	The University of Queensland	QLD	Unknown	Collaborative Laboratory (Co-Lab)	Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology, School of Architecture	http://www.architecture.uq.edu.au/co-lab
21	University of Southern Queensland	QLD	2015	USQ Makerspace	USQ Toowoomba Library	http://makerspace.usq.edu.au/
33.1	Monash University	VIC	2015	SensiLab	Faculty of Information Technology	http://sensilab.monash.edu.au/
33.2	Monash University	VIC	2015	Monash Makerspace	Monash University, Clayton	http://thecollaboration.wix.com/home#!monash-makerspace/qknlg
37	The University of Melbourne	VIC	Unknown	Fabworks	Melbourne School of Design	https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/fabrication-workshop
39	Curtin University	WA	2015	Curtin Library Makerspace	Curtin University Library	http://library.curtin.edu.au/facilities/makerspace.cfm

Of the 15 makerspaces, 7 have the term makerspace included in their name. Five include fabrication or fab and these are all associated with art, architecture, and/or design faculties. It is interesting to note that there are no instances of hackerspace being included in the name. However, the CREATE makers club at UNSW does promote its regular meetups at the Michael Crouch Innovation Centre as hackerspace sessions (Create, n.d.-b). This differentiation may assist in eliminating confusion between the space and the session.

Staffing

As can be seen in Table 2, makerspaces in Australian universities tend to be operated by either specialist staff, a student maker club, a combination of both or library staff. The most common arrangement, as demonstrated in Figure 1, is having specialised staff responsible for managing the space – for example the Workshop Manager employed at the Co-Lab (The University of Queensland, 2014). Student maker clubs tend to be established and supported through the university’s student associations or bodies. The clubs often facilitate access to the university’s makerspace facilities, organise workshops and provide a collaborative support group (Create, n.d.-a).

Table 2. Staffing arrangements for Australian university makerspaces.

Key	University	State	Makerspace	Location	Staffing
1	Australian National University	ACT	Digital Fabrication Lab	School of Art	Specialist staff
8.1	University of New South Wales	NSW	Makerspace – (MCIC)	Michael Crouch Innovation Centre, Materials Science Building, Kensington Campus	Specialist staff & maker club
8.2	University of New South Wales	NSW	Makerspace	UNSW Art & Design, Paddington Campus	Specialist Staff & Maker Club
9	University of Newcastle	NSW	Makerspace	Electrical Engineering Building	Maker Club - student
10.1	The University of Sydney	NSW	Sydney Invention Studio	Engineering Link Building	Maker Club – student
10.2	The University of Sydney	NSW	Design Modelling and Fabrication Laboratory	Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning	Specialist staff
11	University of Technology Sydney	NSW	Fabrication Workshop	Design, Architecture and Building	Specialist staff
12	University of Western Sydney	NSW	MakerSpace	School of Computing, Engineering & Mathematics	Specialist staff
15	Bond University	QLD	Architecture Fabrication & Research Laboratory	Abedian School of Architecture	Specialist staff
20	The University of Queensland	QLD	Collaborative Laboratory (Co-Lab)	Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology, School of Architecture	Specialist staff
21	University of Southern Queensland	QLD	USQ Makerspace	USQ Toowoomba Library	Library staff
33.1	Monash University	VIC	SensiLab	Faculty of Information Technology	Specialist staff
33.2	Monash University	VIC	Monash Makerspace	Monash University, Clayton	Maker Club – student
37	The University of Melbourne	VIC	Fabworks	Melbourne School of Design	Specialist staff
39	Curtin University	WA	Curtin Library Makerspace	Curtin University Library	Library staff

Figure 1. Type of staffing arrangements at Australian academic makerspaces.

Activities

University websites often promote makerspaces activities and upcoming workshops to encourage participation. The makerspace activities indicated in each university website were divided into the following categories:

•	research projects – e.g. specialised multidisciplinary research teams to tackle complex problems,
•	coursework projects – e.g. creating architectural structural models,
•	personal projects – e.g. creating 3D models for personal use,
•	collaborative projects – e.g. submitting an entry into the Western Sydney solar car project,
•	workshops – e.g. learning how to print 3D models,
•	makerspace club activities – e.g. organised weekly hackerspace sessions with club members present.

When the nature of the activities conducted at the makerspace are not explicitly stated, inferences have been made based on the content presented. Therefore, Table 3 may not be an accurate reflection of all the activities that are conducted within each makerspace nor does it differentiate between the frequencies of the activities. However, Table 3 does provide an overview of the types of activities that may occur in makerspaces.

Table 3. Activities conducted at makerspaces in Australian universities.

Key	University	Makerspace	Research	Coursework	Personal	Collaborative	Workshop	Makerspace club
1	Australian National University	Digital Fabrication Lab	✔	✔
8.1	University South Wales	Makerspace (MCIC)		✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
8.2	University of New South Wales	Makerspace		✔	✔	✔		✔
9	University of Newcastle	Makerspace		✔	✔	✔		✔
10.1	The University of Sydney	Sydney Invention Studio		✔	✔	✔		✔
10.2	The University of Sydney	Design Modelling and Fabrication Laboratory	✔	✔		✔
11	University of Technology Sydney	Fabrication Workshop		✔
12	University of Western Sydney	MakerSpace		✔	✔	✔	✔
15	Bond University	Architecture Fabrication & Research Laboratory		✔
20	The University of Queensland	Collaborative Laboratory (Co-Lab)		✔
21	University of Southern Queensland	USQ Makerspace		✔	✔	✔	✔
33.1	Monash University	SensiLab	✔
33.2	Monash University	Monash Makerspace		✔	✔	✔		✔
37	The University of Melbourne	Fabworks	✔	✔
39	Curtin University	Curtin Library Makerspace		✔	✔	✔	✔
Totals			4	14	8	9	4	5

Equipment

The type of equipment used in Australian academic makerspaces varies from laser cutters and 3D printers to art and craft materials. Table 4 provides a summary of equipment found in each makerspace. It should be noted that equipment was not always fully itemized and that more general office equipments such as laser printers and whiteboards were not captured.

Table 4. Equipment found in makerspaces within Australian universities.

Key	University	Makerspace	Laser cutter	CNC machines	PCB milling	3D printer	Computers	Electronics	Soldering	Power tools	Hand tools	Art & craft
1	Australian National University	Digital Fabrication Lab	✔	✔
8.1	University of New South Wales	Makerspace (MCIC)	✔	✔		✔			✔	✔
8.2	University of New South Wales	Makerspace		✔		✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
9	University of Newcastle	Makerspace			✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
10	University of Sydney	Sydney Invention Studio	✔		✔	✔	✔	✔
10	University of Sydney	Design Modelling and Fabrication Laboratory	✔	✔		✔			✔	✔	✔
11	University of Technology Sydney	Fabrication Workshop	Specific information not found
12	University of Western Sydney	MakerSpace	✔	✔		✔				✔	✔
15	Bond University	Architecture Fabrication & Research Laboratory	✔	✔		✔				✔	✔
20	University of Queensland	Collaborative Laboratory (Co-Lab)	✔	✔						✔	✔
21	University of Southern Queensland	USQ Makerspace				✔		✔				✔
33	Monash University	SensiLab				✔
33	Monash University	Monash Makerspace	Specific information not found
37	The University of Melbourne	Fabworks	✔	✔		✔				✔	✔
39	Curtin University	Curtin Library Makerspace					✔	✔				✔

Discussion

This study was designed to investigate the experience of Australian universities with makerspaces. The findings of the virtual audit conducted on Australian university websites revealed 15 makerspaces at 12 Australian universities. This discussion provides an analysis of the findings and compares these findings to previous studies. This section will cover topics including staffing models, makerspace activities and equipment, academic libraries and pop-up makerspaces.

Staffing

With regards to staffing models in Australian academic makerspaces, the most common option identified from the audit is specialist staff (as displayed in Table 2 and Figure 1). This differs with findings from a virtual audit, which investigated 100 U.S. universities selected for having the best undergraduate engineering programmes. The U.S. study found that ‘a combination of student support staff and specialized staff personnel’ was the most common staffing model (Barrett et al., 2015). Apart from sessions run by the four university student maker clubs (CREATE UNSW, Monash Makerspace, University of Newcastle Makerspace and Sydney Uni Makerclub), the use of student support staff within Australian university makerspaces appears limited. A survey of ARL member libraries found that ‘85% use only existing staff to support makerspace services’ (Altman et al., 2015, p. 13). It appears that Curtin University Library and USQ Library also use existing staff to support makerspace services.

Activities

Of the various activities promoted by Australian university makerspaces, working on coursework projects was the most commonly mentioned, followed by collaborative and personal projects. However, over one-third of the makerspaces (6 out of 15) were specifically used for completing coursework or research projects (as can be seen in Table 3). These spaces tended to have limited access. Makerspaces that were promoted as open to all staff and students offered a greater range of activities. The Michael Crouch Innovation Centre has recently opened at UNSW and operates based upon three central premises: everyone is an innovator, everyone is welcome and there is always a better way (UNSW Australia, 2015). UNSW Art & Design promotes their makerspace as an environment where students are no longer just consumers but are able to direct the outcomes themselves (UNSW Australia, Art & Design, 2015). The Curtin Library advocates both ‘low tech’ activities such as knitting, crocheting, weaving and yarn bombing alongside more high-tech digital equipment to act as a ‘buffer zone’ so that students can initially observe without having to fully engage (Curtin University, Curtin Makers, 2015c).

Equipment

Australian university makerspaces offer participants access to a wide range of equipments. The main items mentioned on Australian university websites include, laser cutters, CNC machines, PCB milling machines, 3D printers, computers, electronics, soldering equipment, power tools, hand tools and art and craft supplies. The most commonly stated piece of equipment was the 3D printer followed by the laser cutter. This aligns with findings from a U.S. study of university makerspaces (Barrett et al., 2015). Whatever the equipment, the aim of a makerspace is to be a place where people are free to experiment and make things, individually, and as part of a productive community (Johnson et al., 2015). The inclusion of art and craft supplies as well as electronics at Curtin University Library appears to promote a more inclusive environment which is ‘neutral ground for all departments’ (Harris & Cooper, 2015, p. 7). At universities, a new energy is building around multidisciplinary collaborative efforts as the makerspace is being embraced by the arts as well as the sciences (Educause, 2013).

Academic libraries

Of the 15 permanent makerspaces located during the virtual audit of Australian universities, only two were situated in academic libraries (Curtin University & USQ). This is at odds with findings from a virtual audit, which investigated 100 U.S. universities selected for having the best undergraduate engineering programmes. This study found that ‘the library was the most common location for housing makerspaces’ (Barrett et al., 2015). A survey of ARL member libraries found that ‘responding libraries are funding makerspaces using existing resources’ (Altman et al., 2015, p. 13). The library makerspaces at Curtin University and USQ also appear to fund their makerspaces from existing resources, with assistance from small grants and partnerships (Curtin University, Curtin Makers, 2015b) and requests for donations of equipment and supplies (University of Southern Queensland, n.d.).

Pop-up and mobile makerspaces

A pop-up makerspace, as the name suggests, is a temporary makerspace. As makerspaces can be expensive to establish, be space-consuming, and need monitoring and sustainability, pop-up makerspaces also have the advantages of being easy to put up and take down and require little space for storing materials (Lotts, 2015). Four instances of pop-up makerspaces were noted during the audit of university websites. UTS, The University of Melbourne, Curtin University and USQ all used pop-up makerspaces during Orientation week or University Open Days. It appears that pop-up makerspaces have been employed by some universities as an exploratory stage to gauge interest in makerspaces and survey participants about their needs. In two cases, at Curtin University and USQ, the pop-up spaces were used to ‘test the waters’ before implementation of a permanent space.

Pop-up makerspaces also provide organisers with a creative space that is mobile. Makerspaces can be situated where people are, rather than waiting for people to come to the permanent space. Curtin University Library organised an outdoor pop-up space involving multiple activities during the Curtin Creative Festival (Curtin University, Curtin Makers, 2015a). All instances of pop-up makerspaces were instigated by academic libraries.

Limitations

This project involved conducting a virtual audit of Australian university websites. The nature of the project meant that there were several limitations and they are listed below:

•	Not all of the information sought during the audit of university websites was explicitly stated. At times the meaning was required to be inferred. This interpretation may have inadvertently led to incorrect conclusions.
•	Only publically available information on university websites was used. Information was not obtained from people or from websites that required login details. Thus university intranets or grey literature may provide further information but this was not accessed.
•	There may be makerspaces operating at university campuses that were not detected via the virtual audit. The level of detail on makerspaces varies across university websites. Some information may not be current, relevant information may be omitted or some aspects promoted more heavily than others.
•	Only makerspaces on university campuses were included. During this research, there was mention of two universities forming partnerships with other organisations but as these facilities were not located at the university campus they were not included in this research.
•	Due to the project being conducted over one semester, time constraints meant that this research was only an exploratory search of university websites. There was insufficient time to obtain ethics approval for conducting surveys or interviews.

Despite these limitations, this work does provide a snapshot of the landscape of makerspaces within Australian universities and the findings add to the knowledge currently available.

Recommendations

Further empirical research is needed to extend this exploratory review of makerspaces within Australian universities. There are several studies that could be conducted which would add to the knowledge of academic makerspaces within Australia:

•	Survey key stakeholders associated with university makerspaces, both organisers and participants.
•	Study and catalogue best practices of established academic makerspaces (Wilczynski, 2015).
•	Conduct an ethnographic study of how makerspaces impact the lives of students (Forest et al., 2014, p. 23).
•	Conduct site visits to both Australian and International makerspaces.

Conclusion

University makerspaces are places where students and staff can learn new things, work with their peers, consider new ideas, explore, tinker, invent and make (Harris & Cooper, 2015). This study investigated the experience of Australian universities with makerspaces. Of the 43 Australian university websites studied during this review, only 12 have reported makerspaces, with 3 universities referring to makerspaces on 2 campuses. However, the adoption of makerspaces in higher education is expected to increase in the next two to three years (Johnson et al., 2015) and this will require universities to consider the mission of their makerspaces and map service requirements accordingly. Makerspaces in Australian universities are staffed mainly by specialist staff, offer space to conduct coursework, personal and collaborative projects and are likely to contain 3D printers and laser cutters. As the landscape of makerspaces is rapidly changing, these findings should be considered as a snap shot in time (October 2015) with further empirical research recommended.

Notes on contributors

Anne Wong completed a Master of Information Technology (Library and Information Studies) at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2015. The research for this paper was undertaken as part of that study. She is currently working in a school library encouraging students to develop skills which promote lifelong learning. Anne’s interests include information literacy, improving work practices and employing technology as a tool for learning.

Helen Partridge is pro vice-chancellor (Scholarly Information and Learning Services) and executive director, Australian Digital Futures Institute at University of Southern Queensland. She is also an adjunct professor at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). From 2007 to 2013, she coordinated QUT’s library and information studies (LIS) education programme. Helen’s research intersects information, learning and technology. She has been a visiting fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University (2014) and the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford (2011).

Acknowledgements

This research was conducted as part of Master of Information Technology study at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). My thanks to Dr Andrew Demasson, Projects Coordinator at QUT for his contribution to this work.

Appendix A

A virtual audit was conducted on 43 Australian University websites as listed in National Register of higher education providers (Australian Government, Tertiary Education Quality & Standards Agency, 2015). Refer to Table A1 for details.

Table A1. Australian universities.

Table

Key	University	State	URL
1	Australian National University	ACT	https://www.acu.edu.au
2	University of Canberra	ACT	http://www.canberra.edu.au/
3	Australian Catholic University	NSW	http://www.acu.edu.au/
4	Charles Sturt University	NSW	http://www.csu.edu.au
5	Macquarie University	NSW	http://mq.edu.au
6	Southern Cross University	NSW	http://scu.edu.au/
7	University of New England	NSW	https://www.une.edu.au/
8	University of New South Wales	NSW	https://unsw.edu.au
9	University of Newcastle	NSW	http://www.newcastle.edu.au/
10	The University of Sydney	NSW	http://sydney.edu.au/
11	University of Technology Sydney	NSW	http://www.uts.edu.au/
12	University of Western Sydney	NSW	http://www.westernsydney.edu.au/
13	University of Wollongong	NSW	https://www.uow.edu.au/index.html
14	Charles Darwin University	NT	http://www.cdu.edu.au/
15	Bond University	QLD	https://bond.edu.au/
16	CQUniversity	QLD	https://www.cqu.edu.au/
17	Griffith University	QLD	https://www.griffith.edu.au/
18	James Cook University	QLD	http://www.jcu.edu.au/
19	Queensland University of Technology	QLD	https://www.qut.edu.au/
20	The University of Queensland	QLD	http://www.uq.edu.au/
21	University of Southern Queensland	QLD	https://www.usq.edu.au/
22	University of the Sunshine Coast	QLD	http://www.usc.edu.au/
23	Carnegie Mellon University Australia^a	SA	http://www.australia.cmu.edu/
24	Flinders University	SA	http://www.flinders.edu.au/
25	Torrens University Australia	SA	http://www.torrens.edu.au/
26	University College London^a	SA	http://www.ucl.ac.uk/australia
27	The University of Adelaide	SA	http://www.adelaide.edu.au
28	University of South Australia	SA	https://www.unisa.edu.au/
29	University of Tasmania	TAS	http://www.utas.edu.au/
30	Deakin University	VIC	http://www.deakin.edu.au/
31	Federation University Australia	VIC	http://federation.edu.au/
32	La Trobe University	VIC	http://www.latrobe.edu.au/
33	Monash University	VIC	http://www.monash.edu
34	RMIT University	VIC	https://www.rmit.edu.au/
35	Swinburne University of Technology	VIC	http://www.swinburne.edu.au/
36	University of Divinity^b	VIC	https://www.divinity.edu.au/
37	The University of Melbourne	VIC	http://www.unimelb.edu.au/
38	Victoria University	VIC	https://www.vu.edu.au/
39	Curtin University	WA	http://www.curtin.edu.au/
40	Edith Cowan University	WA	http://www.ecu.edu.au/
41	Murdoch University	WA	http://www.murdoch.edu.au/
42	University of Notre Dame Australia	WA	http://www.nd.edu.au/
43	University of Western Australia	WA	http://www.uwa.edu.au/

^aInternational university.

^bPrivate specialty university.

Appendix B

The template displayed in Table A2 was used to promote consistent data collection. Some university websites contained limited or no information about their makerspaces and therefore it was not always possible to answer each question.

Table A2. Template for collecting information from university websites.

Table

Template
Research Question: ‘What is the experience of Australian universities with makerspaces?’
Date:
University:
URL:
Search terms:	makerspace/‘maker space’/hackerspace/‘hack lab’/fablab/‘fab lab’
Question	Information sourced from website	Prompts
Does the university currently have a makerspace?		Yes/no
Is the university currently considering implementing a makerspace?		Yes/no
What is the name of the makerspace?
When did it open?
Where is the makerspace located?
Who has access to the makerspace?		Campus wide/faculty only/researchers only/industry/community
What is the focus of the makerspace?		Technology/innovation/entrepreneurship/community
How is the makerspace used?		University classes/workshops/researchers/personal projects
Who manages the makerspace?		Staff/staff & students//students only/external
How is the makerspace funded?		University/student/user pays
What equipment does the makerspace have?		3D printers/laser cutters/hand tools/craft/building blocks
Is the makerspace permanent or pop-up?		Permanent/pop up
Inductions required before accessing equipment?		Yes/no
Intellectual property rights held by university?		Yes/no
Sources