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Aiden Findlay
I am a student representative of the iForge at the University of Sheffield. The iForge opened in September 2017 and is the first student-run, university makerspace in the UK. The iForge’s ambition is to encourage creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation within the University and the wider Sheffield City region.
The iForge is open to all University of Sheffield students, researchers and staff members. By steering the curriculum towards practical skills, it will revolutionise the way engineering is taught at university. With the support of university staff and the drive of the student team working at the iForge, Sheffield students will be able to seamlessly use the iForge to support their academic studies and prepare them for work in industry.
Personally, I am an undergraduate aerospace engineer studying at the University of Sheffield. Having grown up in a family of engineers I have always been hands-on, and I firmly believe in the importance of practical skills to the next generation of STEM graduates.
Day-to-day, I support the running of the workshop and work with users on projects from PhDs to birthday presents. Additionally, as part of the external relations team, I develop and create relationships between the iForge and like-minded people within the University and in industry.
After designing and building autonomous boats to cross the Atlantic in The Microtransat Challenge and winning all three categories in the RAeS Boscombe Down Balloon Challenge, I want to share the freedom that creativity provides and encourage more students to get excited about STEM.
