We were asked by Nat Hunter and her team at the RSA, to help them prototype a digital maker platform that could bring together the different maker communities across the UK.

We designed and hosted 2 Swarm Unplugged sessions with the RSA team at Makerversity - a new making and learning space in the old HMRC tax buildings in Somerset House.

The first session, summarised here by the RSA team, brought together a very diverse team of around 35 makers from across the digital, student, education and manufacturing communities to map out what makers are looking for in terms of their needs and project work.

The second session, again reported here by the RSA team, involved working with the group to co-design and test the working prototype for a digital makers platform.

Across both sessions, one of the biggest breakthroughs came from having experienced manufacturers working alongside digital maker entrepreneurs working alongside aspiring teenage makers studying design at college.

"This collaborative way of working and designing was hugely successful. Not only do we have new and innovative ideas from all our participants, but we also have the support and backing from 40 of our target audience from the very start of this project".

 Nat Hunter, the project leader working at The RSA.

Gary England, a DT Teacher from St Johns Academy in Marlborough brought 6 of his A and AS Level Students to both sessions and had this to say....

“The fact that everyone was equal really appealed to the students and they can see that they are playing a vital role in the platform development. It's not like the decisions were made for them. I think that one of their main thoughts before the day was how it could look on a CV or in their personal statement, but will now have a real interest in the project.”

The project is now being further developed and seeking funding for a national roll-out.