发明工作室：大学的创客空间及文化

The Invention Studio: A University Maker Space and Culture

创造力、发明和创新被视为工程学教育的中心支柱。然而,很多大学却缺少培育开放式设计-建造项目的环境。大学里的制造空间和原型空间是典型的"加工车间",这些场所的使用者多数是专业人员或一些受过高级培训的学生,而非普通学生。为了使设计和原型更加贴合工程经验,佐治亚理工学院建立了发明工作室。这是一个配备最先进的综合性设备、可以免费使用、与学习工厂作用相似的创客空间,采用"自下而上"的管理方法,主要由一个本科生管理团队在学校行政管理部门和相关章程指导下集中运营和管理,支持各种项目类型的研究。尽管其最初只是专门为进行课程的顶层设计而创立,发明工作室现在已展现出强大的生命力,拥有了自己的特色文化,其意义已远超过一个顶层原型设计实验室。发明工作室的组织管理、设施建设、安全保证、资金筹备等方式,值得其他创造类似环境的学校借鉴,其设备、基础设施以及文化转型的经验表明,实践与设计-建造教育的价值在于可以持续有效地促进工科学生创新、创造和创业。

Creativity, invention, and innovation are values championed as central pillars of engineering education. However, university environments that foster open-ended design-build projects are uncommon. Fabrication and prototyping spaces at universities are typically ＂machine shops＂ where students relinquish actual fabrication activities to trained professionals or are only accessible for academic assignments to highly trained students. The desire to make design and prototyping more integral to the engineering experience led to the creation of the Invention Studio, a free-use, state-of-the-art and comprehensively equipped maker space. Through a ＂bottom-up＂ approach, the Invention Studio offers a unique alternative for achieving many of the same outcomes as the Learning Factory, and it is centrally managed and maintained by an undergraduate student group with support from the university staff and courses to welcome all type of projects. Though initially founded specifically for the Capstone Design course, the Invention Studio has taken on a life and culture of its own, far beyond just a capstone design prototyping lab. The organization, facilities, safety and funding modes of the Invention Studio are worthy of learning for other universities to create similar environments. The Invention Studio＇s facilities, infrastructure, and cultural transformation are demonstrating the value and sustainability of hands-on, design-build education to stimulate innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship in engineering undergraduates.