RIT named to Newsweek’s ‘Best Maker Schools in Higher Education’ list

Rochester Institute of Technology has been named to Newsweek’s inaugural list of Best Maker Schools in Higher Education. The list was created with Make, publisher of Make magazine and books.

According to Newsweek, the list is comprised of universities, community and junior colleges, and vocational and trade schools with curricula that encourage learning by doing; are supported by educators committed to collaborative problem-solving; have well-developed makerspaces, labs, and studios; and which support diverse, interactive communities that engage in knowledge and skill sharing.

The non-ranked list was generated by recommendation through a survey tool in collaboration with an international community of educators, administrators, students, and maker leaders. To be considered for the list, recommended schools had to demonstrate excellence or competency in integrated learning-through-doing orientation; mentoring, guidance, and coaching for making; physical makerspaces; accessible spaces and tools that support independent, collaborative projects; and a diverse, active community of makers.

Construction on the SHED, RIT’s 120,000-square-foot high-tech complex that will centralize the university’s makerspace and performing arts, is on track to be completed in 2023. The facility’s makerspace and project team spaces will provide students new opportunities for collaboration.

The building will house a performing arts component that includes individual rehearsal spaces, a large dance instruction studio, and a music rehearsal studio. A black-box/glass-box theater seating 180 can be reconfigured to allow for, or block, light into the space. And the facility will also add 1,500 classroom seats to the campus, with 22 standard-size flexible classrooms and five extra-large classrooms that can seat 150 students each.