Bridging the Gaps workshop

27 June 2011

On Friday, 24 June, King’s College London (KCL) staff members from some 15 departments took part in the Institute of Making’s introductory session for Bridging the Gaps, an EPSRC-funded initiative aimed at bridging the gaps between KCL’s internal communities through the topic of materials. The main focus of the session was to outline the opportunities available to internal staff and to begin gathering ideas and proposals for the Festival of Materials & Making, which will see KCL campuses celebrate the exciting activities around materials and making taking place at the College later this year.

“We had a great turnout and afternoon,” said Zoe Laughlin, manager of the Bridging the Gaps project. “Our aim was to inform KCL staff of the unique opportunities available for interdisciplinary and public-facing work at the Institute of Making around materials, while getting ideas flowing and connections formed. I feel this was achieved – and we a good time doing it. What’s more, it really opened our eyes to the potential for exciting cross-departmental work.”

Some 30 staff members, including academics, administrators, and support staff, were in attendance, including Life Sciences, Geography, Cultural and Creative Industries, Dentistry, Fundraising, History, Classics, Physics, Engineering, Fundraising, Bio-materials, Humanities and Pharmacy, while activities involved demonstrations, brainstorming sessions, and material-related games.

Bridging the Gaps falls under the research stream of activities at the Institute of Making.

[Martin Conreen and Zoe Laughlin larking about]

 

[Martin running the Speed Dating Materials session]