University of the West of England

Making and Knowledge Exchange for Repair and Sustainability

The Making and Knowledge Exchange for Repair and Sustainability (MAKERS) project at UWE Bristol enhances belonging among diverse engineering students through sustainability and repair activities, whilst tackling the Climate and Ecological Emergency in partnership with local communities.

Launched in 2023, a monthly on-campus Repair Café teaches and promotes hands-on repair of broken objects, whilst fostering practical skills and employability for students. This enhances identity development as engineers, while also tackling social isolation. Wider community engagement with local hubs aims to support sustainable communities with a Just Transition through skills development and youth education.

The project reached underserved groups; out of 30 regular student participants, 32% were women (compared to 16% in engineering) and 77% were from Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic backgrounds. Repairs undertaken as part of MAKERS have prevented 248kg of waste and 1.6 tons of CO2 emissions. MAKERS also co-developed projects with 17 organisations and delivered repair and making workshops to more than 70 people from the community.

Top 3 Learnings

Our monthly repair café on campus has helped to reduce waste and conserve resources, mitigating the environmental impact of production and consumption.

Making and repairing items together involved collaboration and sharing, which has helped foster social connections and a sense of belonging amongst our communities and students.

Engaging in making and repairing activities has fostered the development of practical skills and knowledge, which is not only useful for personal endeavours but also contributes to workforce development and innovation within society.