Dive Brief:
- New research by HermanMiller outlines the ways in which forward-thinking institutions have recognized the power of innovation and created specific spaces to house the makers, hackers, and coworkers who produce it.
- According to eCampus News, makers need tools like computers, 3D printers, and laser cutters for their inventions; hackers generally work on taking things apart, like computers or other electronics; and coworkers do their own thing, using the space for networking.
- While a handful of higher education institutions have such spaces, none studied in the report is centrally located to attract all types of students, meaning institutions considering creating such a space have no framework to follow.
Dive Insight:
While there may not be an example of a perfect innovation space on campuses, there are examples from which other colleges or universities can take inspiration. Georgia Tech’s Invention Studio has space for all three types of innovators but it is already filled to capacity and it is in the school’s engineering building, limiting interdisciplinary interaction. The think[box] at Case Western Reserve University is moving from a 4,500-square-foot space to a 7-story, 50,000-square-foot facility that has taken a $35 million investment. The university calls it one of the largest university-based innovation centers in the world. Once it opens, that will be a space to keep an eye on.