Step into “The Hive:” engineering’s newest maker space
What used to be an auditorium in the Van Leer building, the Interdisciplinary Design Commons (IDC) is now the largest electronics-oriented student makerspace in the country. Opened in September 2018, it offers students a hands-on learning environment where they can work together to solve technology design challenges.
Any student who comes to the center with an idea will be able to leave with a prototype they built. The facility provides access to equipment that is industry standard, giving students access to hands-on design projects that are woven throughout the curriculum. Students are affectionately calling the space “The Hive,” which is also the name of the student volunteer group which helps train students to use the facility.
The goal is to instill entrepreneurial confidence in our students by offering a comfortable, low-pressure learning environment in which any student has room to grow and explore. The facility helps give every student the ability to create anything they want to create.
The IDC is another key in the College’s “maker culture,” helping facilitate growth and inventive ideas, and providing the tools that our students need to achieve their dreams of creating the next big thing.
“The IDC is a space where our students can dream big and realize those dreams in hardware and software. Given the level of ingenuity and creativity I see unleashed in the IDC on a daily basis, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next multinational tech giant is conceived within the walls of this beautiful new space.”