Kent State’s Design Innovation Maker Program has been included in Newsweek’s 2021 list of Best Maker Schools in Higher Education that includes 200 universities worldwide.
The non-ranked list was generated by recommendation through a survey tool in collaboration with an international community of educators, administrators, students and maker leaders. J.R. Campbell, executive director of Kent State’s Design Innovation (DI) Initiative, said this is the first time that Kent State “has shown up in this way on the international stage.”
"It is nice to see us entering a global stage in terms of how we’re being seen in our role, incorporating makerspace environments into higher education. In addition to our really cool building, we are trying to build a whole network of maker spaces and resource labs across the university and make them more accessible. We are trying to help students think of ‘making’ as not just access to tools, but a way to build community and capacity.”
In 2019, the makerspaces that compose Kent State’s DI Initiative ranked No. 6 among universities and colleges across the country, according to Great Value Colleges, which released the list 50 Best Makerspaces: These Cutting Edge College Collaborative Spaces Truly Rock!
Kent State’s makerspaces, which number more than 25 across the eight-campus system, was named the top program in Ohio and entered the top 10 by surpassing programs at schools such as the University of Southern California, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and Harvard University.