2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Overseas Team Building for Student Leaders in Academic Makerspaces

Presented at International Division (INTL): Cultivating Global Competencies

This practice paper discusses the design, implementation, and outcomes of an overseas team-building program organized by the [Innovation Center] at [Institution]. Established in December 2020, the center has actively supported Student-Initiated Interest Groups (SIGs) focused on technology exploration and development among undergraduate students. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the center had expanded to accommodate 22 active SIGs with over 300 student participants, fostering an interdisciplinary, project-based, hands-on learning culture within the [Institution].
Despite the growth of SIGs, several issues have surfaced. Primarily, silos exist among the SIGs, hindering effective interactions and collaboration. Additionally, some SIGs have started contending for resources, particularly project space, leading to escalated conflicts. Moreover, a redundancy in training topics among various SIGs for new members has been noted, resulting in duplicated workloads for newcomers.
In the 2024-25 academic year, we implemented an overseas team-building program for student leaders to address these challenges. Following the Tuckman Team Model, we introduced five incentives to boost engagement. The program aims to unite leaders into a cohesive ambassador team, enhancing their understanding of academic makerspaces' educational value. By immersing them in global makerspace activities, they learn best leadership practices to bring back and foster a collaborative culture within the [Innovation Center].
In September 2024, fourteen leaders representing seven SIGs took part in the pilot program. They engaged in ice-breaking activities to dismantle silos, brainstorming sessions to strategize how their SIGs could enhance the [Innovation Center], goal-setting discussions to define outcomes for their involvement in an overseas makerspace symposium, presentations to share their insights, and knowledge-sharing sessions to disseminate experiences and conclusions to other makerspace members.
Surveys and analysis of written reflections from the team leaders indicate that the overseas team-building program effectively dismantled silos, enhanced collaboration, and promoted personal growth among student leaders. These leaders showcased a shift in perspective when offering recommendations for the improvement of the [Innovation Center]. Comparing them with the 2023/24 cohort of leaders, these individuals displayed a more proactive approach to enhancing the overall functionality and effectiveness of the makerspace for one another, rather than solely focusing on the benefits of their individual SIGs.

Authors
  1. Dr. Chun Kit Chui University of Hong Kong [biography]
  2. Kei Yiu Mo University of Hong Kong [biography]
  3. Chun Kit Chan University of Hong Kong [biography]
  4. Tien-Hsuan Wu University of Hong Kong [biography]
Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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