Kent State’s makerspaces ranked No. 6 in a list by Great Value Colleges of the top 50 college and university makerspaces in the nation. It was the highest rank of an Ohio-based university. 

Great Value Colleges defines a makerspace as a blend between a traditional classroom and an area where people can come together and use technology to solve problems. Universities included in this ranking needed to demonstrate a dedication to creative problem solving through the arts, technology and their personal philosophies, according to Great Value Colleges.

In a summary of the rankings, Great Value Colleges recognized Kent State for having more than 25 small makerspaces and resource labs available to students across its campuses. It also acknowledged Kent State’s Design Innovation Hub, which is scheduled to open in Fall 2020, as a makerspace that will become “a place that sparks open access collaborations across a range of disciplines.” 

“We are incredibly pleased to be recognized for our collaborative makerspace approach, through our Design Innovation Initiative, as both a university-wide ecosystem of Design Innovation Nodes in conjunction with our soon-to-be-completed Design Innovation Hub at Kent State University,” said J.R. Campbell, executive director of Kent State’s Design Innovation Initiative, in a university press release. 

Paige Bennett is the general assignment editor. Contact her at [email protected].