RSA Events

Makerspaces: The new factory floor?

A conversation examining the potential significance of the growing number of so-called makerspaces and what they could mean for hobbyists, educationalists, entrepreneurs and consumers alike.

Panellists: Tom Tobia, Makerversity founder; Daniel Charny curator and founder of Fixperts; Sophie Thomas, Great Recovery, RSA; Asa Calow creative technologist and Madlab founder

Chair: Zoe Laughlin, co-founder/director of the Institute of Making and the Materials Library project

Meet the 21st century makers

An in-conversation session where a diverse group of makers will share their experiences of creating under different conditions – from those that work on craft to those that build high-tech robotics, and from those that make for themselves to those that manufacture for the masses.

Participants: Makeda Matheson film-producer turned cashmere-enthusiast and fashion designer; Emily Brooke BLAZE bike light designer; Alison Lloyd, founder and designer, Ally Capellino; Mark Brearley, Cass Cities and proprietor, Kaymet.

Chair: Anthony Painter, director of policy and strategy, RSA

Atoms, bits and everything in between

A discussion looking at how the advent of the digital age and the introduction of new technologies have changed the nature of making, as seen through peer-to-peer marketplaces, open source hardware initiatives, the internet of things and digital fabrication tools.

Panellists: Philip Colligan chief executive of Raspberry Pi; Bethany Koby, Technology Will Save Us; Jessi Baker Provenance HQ; Sylvain Preumont, founder of iMakr and MyMiniFactory.com

Chair: Kitty Knowles, journalist, The Memo

Introducing the next industrial revolution

A conversation exploring the emergence of the maker movement in all its forms and the factors that are fuelling its rise – from the arrival of cheaper tools, to the revival of making in popular culture, to the growing consumer appetite for domestic goods.

Panellists: Liz Corbin, Institute of Making and co-founder of Open Workshop Network; Julie Madigan, Manufacturing Institute; Indy Johar co-founder of 00; Rosy Greenlees, executive director of Crafts Council

Chair: Peter Marsh former FT journalist and author of The New Industrial Revolution

In the lead-up to ‘last chance’ negotiations at COP21, renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough and explorer and conservationist Tim Flannery put their heads together on this era-defining issue.