University of Illinois, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Ilesanmi Adesida , visited the MakerLab on March 26. He was very interested in this new space housed in the College of Business , which introduces design thinking and allows students to learn by making. He shared his thoughts on how introducing hands on learning earlier in the engineering curriculum has improved student learning, engagement and retention.

He also shared some details of other initiatives which the university is considering to create more such "design" friendly spaces, which would encourage cross-functional collaborations. We are proud to say that the MakerLab, serves this mission of the university very well, with many majors using the lab in the few weeks that we have been open.