KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Mainstream tech startups have been vital to jumpstarting new firm innovation in America. Policymakers are increasingly interested in whether this will drive similar innovation in the hard-hit manufacturing sector. Among the most visible new movements of late is the maker movement, a bottom-up force representing the latest inspiration for students to pursue learning and applying science, technology, engineering, and math.
While most people have been busy adjusting education to the digital economy, some refuse to discard manufacturing as an economic engine and a skill ? all without turning a blind eye to the global competitive landscape. The idea from its most vocal advocates in the United States ? Tim O?Reilly and Dale Dougherty ? was to resuscitate the innovative and creative spirit that drives competitiveness in making solutions.
Through Maker Faire and ?Makeathon? events, as well as burgeoning ?makerspaces,? the maker movement soon found its way into the youth culture in the United States. Today?s entrepreneurial makers are a growing army of everyday citizens who are using new tools and techniques to launch businesses. They are doing so by applying STEM knowledge to manufacturing, and capitalizing on technological advances, such as CNC routers, and other desktop machine tools.
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