This week we’re bringing you news of an exciting new project and focus for Imagination Matters over the coming months. In the run-up to the Institute of Imagination‘s Mega Maker Lab in August, we’ll be taking the opportunity to look at the next generation of inventors and what inspires them. Here, meet the Imagination Architects.…
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This is a great example of technology meeting community. The development and potential of 3D printing is opening up massive civic infrastructure projects to the communities which actually use them. Not only does this involve users in their urban environment, but increases sustainability and feeds skills development. The Fabrication City concept puts manufacturing back in…
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It’s tempting, as this article from EdSurge observes, to think of the ‘other’ as a threat; the onslaught of the new and the now obsolete. However, while championing the limitless benefits of reading in print, we must also be careful not to risk dismissing technology. The value in studying the effects of both will be…
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There’s nothing more exciting than seeing where our imaginations can take us. We applaud TIME‘s annual celebration of ideas and creativity and what they might mean for the future. Inventions come from dreaming things up that didn’t exist before. Whether it’s something ingenious, useful, or just for fun, it’s all about imagination and those championing…
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We’ve talked a lot and often about AI and its emergence into the world of work, and how we’ll co-exist with it. This article from TechRadar looks particularly at the idea of using AI to augment our current processes. Fascinatingly, Isaac Asimov imagined this concept in the 1940s, detailed in his novels. With technology’s rapid…
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Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have been dominating the conversation around future work for some time, and understandably so. However, as with any change and development, it’s worth taking in all angles on the issue. We’ve been reading this great piece from Wired on why the ‘rise of the machines’ might not mean that the…
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While we must take the implications of technological advancement seriously, we can still get excited about the possible benefits. By its very definition, empathy is about putting oneself in another’s shoes, so what better than virtual reality, “the ultimate empathy machine”? In this article from Futurity, Alex Shashkevich, Stanford University, is exploring new research into how technology…
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The necessity of institutions such as libraries, especially to the learning experience, is indisputable. However, just like with the office in the world of work, they must grow and change with our needs. In this article from The Guardian, Cambridge Librarian Georgina Cronin, discusses some of the essential ways in which the library is innovating…
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We believe that imagination is the essential link between knowledge, creativity, learning and discovery. It’s both the fuel and the path through which ideas are brought to life. This is especially true for STEM subjects, where access, interest and take-up is a battle which continues. Making is part of our philosophy, and as this article…
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We champion making as an essential part of interactive learning and creativity at iOi and Imagination Matters, but the importance of the practice is about more than just engagement. Much of the western world is moving towards a consumer culture, removed from the invention and manufacture of the technology we rely on. What happens to…
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