003: Columbus Idea Foundry: A Makerspace for Learning, Collaboration, & Mischief | with Alex Bandar

Alex Bandar is the founder and Chief Mischief-Maker at the Columbus Idea Foundry. An engineer by training and serial entrepreneur by practice, Alex is the kind of guy who likes to roll up his sleeves and solve problems – and inspire others do the same.

The Idea Foundry is a multifaceted collaborative environment for exploring, learning, making; a makerspace for anyone with passion and an idea. Whether you want to launch a startup or teach a class, create a podcast or learn a new skill, collaborate on an idea or get into some mischief, it’s the ideal place to make things happen in a 21st century world.

We unbox:

• The next generation of teaching and learning
• What is work in the 21st century?
• Tricking kids to learn tech through hands-on, functional artistic projects
• Becoming a center for creative and techy adults
• What innovation means in a world where sci-fi is becoming reality
• Columbus is a startup town – and a 21st century version of Renaissance Florence Italy
• Why the Columbus Idea Foundry works
• The role of makerspaces in a traditional education setting
• Why does a community need a culture of creation?
• What employers and industries want from today’s young learners

Resources:

• Learn more at https://ideafoundry.com/
• IF on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ideafoundrycolumbus/
• IF on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IdeaFoundryColumbus/
• IF on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/columbus-idea-foundry/
• IF on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IdeaFoundryCbus
• Alex on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexander.bandar
• Alex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbandar/

Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate Media

Recorded by Eric French at WOSU Studios in Columbus, Ohio