Maker Culture at NUS
Sheng Chuan moulded a carbon-fibre bicycle frame by hand
Year 4 NUS Architecture student Chua Sheng Chuan moulded a carbon-fibre racing bicycle frame by hand, in his bedroom. He also created a high-precision Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine which cuts, saws and drills based on a computer-aided drawing so that he could carve out his ideas in the comfort of his home. Sheng Chuan's "making is enabled by what he has learnt at NUS, but he has now taken the act of learning out of the classroom. He counts himself as part of the global Maker Culture, which is gaining a following on campus.
On campus, some faculty members are encouraging open-ended learning, an inherent part of "making, through their courses. Year 4 NUS Communications and New Media (CNM) student Dennis Ang took a module on biohacking or biology conducted in non-laboratory environments taught by NUS CNM Assistant Professor Denisa Kera, who follows and supports science community labs and alternative R&D places across the world.
Dennis and two other CNM students founded NUS Makers this semester, a group that comes under the auspices of the NUS CNM Society. About 50 NUS students have signed up via the group's Facebook page.
"We make in order to foster a creative environment. Learning through 'making' is one of the reasons [we] make. There shouldn't be an end goal, said Dennis. He has built a honeybee house and intends to try beekeeping next. Dennis, who is studying interactive media design, believes that by participating in the "making culture", he will be exposed to people from different disciplines, which will be beneficial in the long run.
"We can learn from people who're experts in their own field and this exchange of knowledge is very relevant in the job industry, added Dennis. He also felt more skills would be acquired through this avenue than the traditional education route.
NUS CNM Assistant Professor Alex Mitchell, who is an advisor to NUS Makers, said the maker movement empowers people to make things with technology, and not to look at everything as a black box. In doing so, the students tend to develop critical-thinking skills, which helps with the acquisition of knowledge.
Sheng Chuan tweaking his homemade CNC machine
Singapore has been encouraging the culture of tinkering in its vision of becoming a Smart Nation, a country that harnesses technology to improve the lives of its residents. At the Singapore Maker Festival last December, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister overseeing the Smart Nation initiative, said, "This is the best time ever to be a maker because you have got access, you have got connectivity, you can share ideas.
"Making in its current form is enabled by modern-day technologies like 3D printing and computer-aided design software, but it is an activity humans have engaged in since time immemorial.
Sheng Chuan's "do-it-yourself approach was inspired by Robinson Crusoe, a book first published almost 300 years ago. Robinson, the book's protagonist who was shipwrecked on an island, survived by making many of the things he needed.
"You only have one life to live…choose how you want to live it. Every minute counts, said Sheng Chuan, whose current project is an electric violin. He plans to make a foldable kayak next.
