Sean Kelly talks about working life in the University's Makerspace - part of the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Entering the Makerspace, part of the University's Kura Matahuna - Unleash Space, is like pulling up at a grown-up's version of a kid's crafting table.
Full of intriguing machines - like laser and vinyl cutters, 3D printers, soldering equipment and sewing machines - and materials (it's a haberdashery nerd's paradise), you can't help but want to get creative.
That's totally the idea, says technology and prototyping manager Sean Kelly, who oversees the Makerspace, run by the Business School's Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The Makerspace aims to spark 'playful curiosity' and is open to students and staff, whether they want to prototype a product or polish off a project.
Helping out is a team of 'creative technologists' - students who are employed to assist people using the space, getting them up to speed with the equipment and otherwise offering their skills and ideas.
Prior to starting at Unleash Space, Sean worked in the nascent makerspace sector at a community technology library called Do Space in Omaha, Nebraska. On his way out of the US, after his work visa expired, he spotted an ad for a role at Unleash Space, which was then in development.
Originally from Geelong, Sean had never been to New Zealand, but applied immediately, and after winning the role was initially involved with setting up the hub before it opened in 2017.
It's a busy place - supporting curricula, as well as extracurricular activities for staff and students and visiting groups from outside the University - but a joy of the job, says Sean, is there's always time to learn something new.
What do you enjoy about working in the Makerspace?
One of the principles of the Makerspace is 'playful curiosity'. It's a space for students to simply be curious and creative, regardless of their discipline or their faculty, and pursue their creative interests. So, you end up seeing a very wide variety of skills, projects and talents.
It's very organic in that you have this creative playground where students collide with each other, make cool stuff and, by osmosis, you end up learning all about what they're doing. A lot of the things that I've learned, especially technically, have come from my own students. The collective knowledge that we've developed here is pretty big.
What's something in the space you particularly like using?
It has to be the 3D printers. The technology has developed in leaps and bounds over the past seven years, and the printers are now faster, more reliable and more efficient. As a result, almost anything that you print impresses someone.
What's one of the most interesting things that you've printed?
It was a few years ago now, but I did 3D print a working violin (pictured below) from an open-source model. And if I wanted to print it now, I know it would be a lot better because the models have improved and the printing would be faster, stronger and use better material.
If the technology is always evolving, are you constantly buying new equipment?
The nature of the Makerspace is to be very open, with low barriers to entry, so another important feature is to keep the equipment, whether it's digital or analogue, fairly low risk, robust and desktop size.
So a lot of what we have here from when we opened is still very relevant. We have a lot of the same sewing machines, for example, that we had seven years ago.
On the other hand, we have upgraded some of our 3D printers because printing just keeps giving us new efficiency gains.
What types of equipment do students use most often in the space?
Everything is well used, but probably the most used are the laser cutter and the 3D printers. They get quick results, so there's a lot of demand for those.
It can be a bit daunting to give some of these things a go, so another of our principles is 'technology enablement and empowerment'. You can come into the space and be trained, and when you know what it's about, then that might inspire you to pursue the third pillar, which is 'prototyping and innovation'.
If you want to visualise an idea or a solution, or you're working on a start-up venture and need a prototype, you can do that here.
In a makerspace, the equipment doesn't activate itself; there has to be a team behind it. The breadth of skills that the creative technologists have is great, including their expertise in prototyping. We're always trying to save people time and money, and ensure they don't jump too far into a project before considering design.
Again, it's about lowering those barriers to making something - empowering the making movement.
Caitlin Sykes
This article first appeared in the the March 2025 issue of UniNews.
