Makerspace Tour

Makerspace Introduction

Welcome to the P.D. Merrill Makerspace at the University of New England (UNE)! Named after P.D. Merrill, a philanthropist and former Chair of UNE’s Board of Trustees, the Makerspace is a remarkable resource that supports student learning from across the University’s diverse array of academic programs. We hope you enjoy this tour and learning about our amazing students, professional staff and facility.  

The Design Laboratory supports experiential learning in two course offerings from our Department of Business: Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Innovation Through Technology, where students learn about design thinking, disruptive technologies, lean launch, rapid prototyping and other methodologies. A growing number of programs ranging from marine science to occupational therapy also introduce students to these topics with the goal of providing students with what we call “career readiness skills” for jobs and careers not yet imagined.

The P.D. Merrill Makerspace also promotes and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration recognizing that the complex problems of today and the future require the insights from many different perspectives and fields of study. We support this in part through the use of student portfolio managers, whose role is to help students build effective teams to successfully complete their various projects. In the video above, Keith discusses his role as a portfolio manager. Keith also discusses the annual Innovation Challenge, where student teams pitch their innovative ideas in a “shark tank-like” competition. Keith also talks about his experience with Maine’s Greenlight Collegiate Challenge, where students from colleges and universities across Maine pitch their ideas in a statewide competition format.

Training and Prototyping

In the Training and Prototype area of the Makerspace, students learn about Arduino, Raspberry PI, Python, Soldering, 3D design, 3D printing, Laser cutting, electronics and other skills needed for their projects. We use rapid prototyping and agile methodologies in all of our team projects ranging from the innovation challenge teams to students conducting research with faculty in laboratories across the University.  Olivia discusses her research project in the video above. 

Workspace

The workspace area allows student to build larger projects. There are many tools available. In the room tour, you will see examples of a Solar LORA arduino environmental sensor system and a Blue Robotics ROV. Hanna discusses her role as a Portfolio Manager and the RoboSeal project in the video above.