We need community base makerspace - exiang/startup-resources GitHub Wiki

Remember your Kemahiran Hidup bengkel at school? Did your teacher allows you to use it outside of school hour for your own project (regardless how stupid it sounds)?

How about your college/university labs? Are you facing difficulty being a business faculty student trying to access 3d printer from engineering faculty, simply because you happens to be a business student that’s beyond your lecturer or university imagination?

Or have you tried to build something with friends but he get stop at university gate by guard simply because he is not a student here?

Why should you and your team be penalised for being a maker, having a cross interest, or just want to build something stupid but fun? To encourage creativity and maker culture, the adult should take extra effort to go beyond their comfort authority territorial, stop using safety and security as an excuse.

There’s already co-working space mushrooming but more like a property game, built by the property developers rather than the maker community. While they are able to cater certain user needs like freelancer, graphic designer, software programmer, it is not good enough for maker.

From national building perspective, we needs spaces where all races/background of students/youth can get together works on their favourite projects after school, without the authority figure to limit their creativity and imagination.

Talent

I put this on top as it is the single most important aspect for the successful of this project. Talent should be train thru talent-train-talent method and being distributed at all space across the nation. These talent provide technical training, guidance, mentorship and take up responsibility to manage the space and facility in it. As time passed, knowledge are transferred to the community, and it will be self sustain thru community run events for knowledge exchange.

Synergy

Many modern projects nowadays required cross facility. Like building a mobile app that can interact with an Arduino hardware housed in a nicely crafted artistic wood container that controls 3d printed modal. We want brains from all aspect to come together and try build something. No more design students only for design project, IT students only for IT project.

Facilities

Aircond, high speed internet, security and 24 hours operation are required. Makerspace is more than a co-working space, we needs facility for various projects like tools for wood works, laser cut for metal works, 3d printer, electronic equipments and etc. Of course, computer software projects are welcome too. It shouldn’t be a computer lab as most people has their own laptop nowsaday. The Penang digital library is a good start for Malaysia, but better modal can refer to Singapore.

Public transport accessible

It’s important to have the space setup at location that can be easily accessible with public transport. Most youth do not drive and they can’t pay for high public transport fee too.

Nearby cluster of school

Some town has different stream of school built in close proximity. Sekolah Kebangsaan, Chinese school, Indian school, or even international school at one section of the town. This space should be setup at the middle point of these schools.

Event

Then, only we organise hackathon and others entrepreneurs event at these spaces. It should run entirely by the community, for the community.

$$$

Haven’t got this part figured out. Gov can provide the space, but running it should come from private initiative as it will guarantee more flexiblity.

Safety

Handling machinery and tool or even plugin to electric socket are seems dangerous activities for some parents. This required a mindset shift in the entire society. It’s very much related to lack of DIY culture and appreciation of technical skill and knowledge. Perhaps we need a nerd/maker minister to drive the change. Our youth already disassemble and reassemble different type of fireworks out of curiosity and creativity, we needs to provide an avenue for them where their creativity can be use in a more guided and safe method.