Makerspaces in Higher Education : the UR-Maker experience at the University of La Rioja

Nowadays, in addition to the expected technical knowledge, labor markets demand engineers with personal, interpersonal and system building skills, according to the CDIO (Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate) syllabus. But the current higher education systems are mostly teaching theoretical concepts rather than practical or applied cases. Makerspaces could become a bridge between universities and industry, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers. Makerspaces, also known as hackerspaces, hack labs, and fab labs, are open-access spaces where tools, machines and knowledge are shared with the purpose of implementing an idea. This communication evaluates the current status of the makerspaces at the world's top 10 universities in engineering and three of the most well-known Spanish ones, as well as the new campus makerspace created at the University of La Rioja. All the information was collected from universities' websites. Most of these reviewed universities have created outstanding makerspaces generally for the entire academic community. The Spanish 'Maker UPV' has been exceptionally successful promoting activities and projects in spite of the lack of resources reported. Lastly, the implementation of a new makerspace at the University of La Rioja (UR-Maker) is described with information about its organization, funding sources and activities already performed. This experience can represent an attractive guide for the academic community as other universities can explore the creation of new makerspaces on their own campus.Peer reviewe

Assessment of microproject-based teaching/learning (MicroPBL) experience in industrial engineering degrees

An assessment program to evaluate microproject-based teaching/ learning (MicroPBL) methodology on the technical subject Manufacturing Technology was implemented for four consecutive academic years. Students from three engineering degrees were involved providing feedback through various surveys that allowed us to perform a proper evaluation. More specifically, students' surveys were anonymous after each academic year, except the last one, which included both non-anonymous pre and postsurveys. The polls were mainly meant to evaluate the acquisition of specific competences (using technical questions about the subject) as well as generic ones (using questions concerning soft-skills). Students' satisfaction with the methodology and with the signature, in general, were also checked. Nonanonymous surveys enabled us to study the correlation between polls results and students' final scores. Note that students' self-assessment concerning their knowledge about technical aspects drastically changed after the course. The average final score of this subject from student's perception was slightly higher than the real value. Moreover, student's self-perception on soft-skills increased at the end of the course. In general, the proposed MicroPBL methodology demonstrated a beneficial impact on students of Manufacturing Technology keeping high-motivation levels in students as well as high success rates and scores.Peer reviewe

Methodology based on micro-projects in DIY desktop machines for educational purposes in engineering degrees

[EN] The 21st century university has the big educational challenge of how to encourage “a will to learn” in students living in a world saturated with a huge amount of information and distractions. A needed step to keep students motivated is to update their learning environments. Herein we present a proposal with a methodology based on microprojects in DIY desktop machines (MicroP-DIY-DkM). The main idea is to consolidate students’ theoretical background using motivating microprojects in which foreign entities act as petitioners. The students will also receive a broad view of current state of manufacturing technologies. At the same time, English language and Information and Communication Technologies skills can be promoted by our methodology. We provide information about the implementation of several examples of these microprojects, which were applied in the technical subject ‘Manufacturing Technology’. The use of open source DIY-DkM offers students the possibility to understand essential principles of industrial technologies and processes. According to our surveys, students’ scores and success rate results, the methodology proposed demonstrated its convenience to be applied in technical subjects. Students showed greater motivation level and success rate than previous years using conventional methods. Limitation of the proposal and possible means of improvement are also included.Pernia-Espinoza, A.; Sanz-García, A.; Sodupe-Ortega, E.; Antoñanzas-Torres, J.; Antoñanzas-Torres, F.; Urraca-Valle, R. (2016). Methodology based on micro-projects in DIY desktop machines for educational purposes in engineering degrees. En 2nd. International conference on higher education advances (HEAD'16). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 317-325. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD16.2015.2731OCS31732

Accurate Calibration in Multi-Material 3D Bioprinting for Tissue Engineering

Most of the studies in three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting have been traditionally based on printing a single bioink. Addressing the complexity of organ and tissue engineering, however, will require combining multiple building and sacrificial biomaterials and several cells types in a single biofabrication session. This is a significant challenge, and, to tackle that, we must focus on the complex relationships between the printing parameters and the print resolution. In this paper, we study the influence of the main parameters driven multi-material 3D bioprinting and we present a method to calibrate these systems and control the print resolution accurately. Firstly, poloxamer hydrogels were extruded using a desktop 3D printer modified to incorporate four microextrusion-based bioprinting (MEBB) printheads. The printed hydrogels provided us the particular range of printing parameters (mainly printing pressure, deposition speed, and nozzle z-offset) to assure the correct calibration of the multi-material 3D bioprinter. Using the printheads, we demonstrated the excellent performance of the calibrated system extruding different fluorescent bioinks. Representative multi-material structures were printed in both poloxamer and cell-laden gelatin-alginate bioinks in a single session corroborating the capabilities of our system and the calibration method. Cell viability was not significantly affected by any of the changes proposed. We conclude that our proposal has enormous potential to help with advancing in the creation of complex 3D constructs and vascular networks for tissue engineering.Most of the studies in three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting have been traditionally based on printing a single bioink. Addressing the complexity of organ and tissue engineering, however, will require combining multiple building and sacrificial biomaterials and several cells types in a single biofabrication session. This is a significant challenge, and, to tackle that, we must focus on the complex relationships between the printing parameters and the print resolution. In this paper, we study the influence of the main parameters driven multi-material 3D bioprinting and we present a method to calibrate these systems and control the print resolution accurately. Firstly, poloxamer hydrogels were extruded using a desktop 3D printer modified to incorporate four microextrusion-based bioprinting (MEBB) printheads. The printed hydrogels provided us the particular range of printing parameters (mainly printing pressure, deposition speed, and nozzle z-offset) to assure the correct calibration of the multi-material 3D bioprinter. Using the printheads, we demonstrated the excellent performance of the calibrated system extruding different fluorescent bioinks. Representative multi-material structures were printed in both poloxamer and cell-laden gelatin-alginate bioinks in a single session corroborating the capabilities of our system and the calibration method. Cell viability was not significantly affected by any of the changes proposed. We conclude that our proposal has enormous potential to help with advancing in the creation of complex 3D constructs and vascular networks for tissue engineering.Peer reviewe

Efficient Fabrication of Polycaprolactone Scaffolds for Printing Hybrid Tissue-Engineered Constructs

Hybrid constructs represent substantial progress in tissue engineering (TE) towards producing implants of a clinically relevant size that recapitulate the structure and multicellular complexity of the native tissue. They are created by interlacing printed scaffolds, sacrificial materials, and cell-laden hydrogels. A suitable biomaterial is a polycaprolactone (PCL); however, due to the higher viscosity of this biopolymer, three-dimensional (3D) printing of PCL is slow, so reducing PCL print times remains a challenge. We investigated parameters, such as nozzle shape and size, carriage speed, and print temperature, to find a tradeoff that speeds up the creation of hybrid constructs of controlled porosity. We performed experiments with conical, cylindrical, and cylindrical shortened nozzles and numerical simulations to infer a more comprehensive understanding of PCL flow rate. We found that conical nozzles are advised as they exhibited the highest shear rate, which increased the flow rate. When working at a low carriage speed, conical nozzles of a small diameter tended to form-flatten filaments and became highly inefficient. However, raising the carriage speed revealed shortcomings because passing specific values created filaments with a heterogeneous diameter. Small nozzles produced scaffolds with thin strands but at long building times. Using large nozzles and a high carriage speed is recommended. Overall, we demonstrated that hybrid constructs with a clinically relevant size could be much more feasible to print when reaching a tradeoff between temperature, nozzle diameter, and speed.Peer reviewe

Strength Performance of Different Mortars Doped Using Olive Stones as Lightweight Aggregate

The amount of ground olive stone available in Spain surpasses the needs of the construction industry for lightweight aggregate. The objective herein is to generate a material, lightweight mortar, with different percentages of ground olive stone, and then evaluate the mechanical performance and viability of these materials for the manufacture of lightweight elements used in the construction sector. To this end, an experiment was designed with nine different dosages of ground olive stone and three types of cement. In all, 378 test pieces were produced to assess the material, its handling while fresh, and its performance. Based on an analysis of consistency, density, compressive strength, and flexural strength, we were able to determine how much ground olive stone can be successfully incorporated into the material: 30% ground olive stone achieved a decrease in density of 15% compared to mortar without ground olive stone. The compressive strength of the different dosages studied remained above 70% of that of the mortar without ground olive stone. Bending behavior was more severely compromised, the values being around 50%. Cements with a more robust strength performance proved capable of assimilating a higher percentage of ground olive stone. This study shows the technical viability of the materials produced

Strength Performance of Different Mortars Doped Using Olive Stones as Lightweight Aggregate

The amount of ground olive stone available in Spain surpasses the needs of the construction industry for lightweight aggregate. The objective herein is to generate a material, lightweight mortar, with different percentages of ground olive stone, and then evaluate the mechanical performance and viability of these materials for the manufacture of lightweight elements used in the construction sector. To this end, an experiment was designed with nine different dosages of ground olive stone and three types of cement. In all, 378 test pieces were produced to assess the material, its handling while fresh, and its performance. Based on an analysis of consistency, density, compressive strength, and flexural strength, we were able to determine how much ground olive stone can be successfully incorporated into the material: 30% ground olive stone achieved a decrease in density of 15% compared to mortar without ground olive stone. The compressive strength of the different dosages studied remained above 70% of that of the mortar without ground olive stone. Bending behavior was more severely compromised, the values being around 50%. Cements with a more robust strength performance proved capable of assimilating a higher percentage of ground olive stone. This study shows the technical viability of the materials produced