Role and Impact of Maker Spaces in Universities Third Mission: The ViNN:Lab Case

The maker movement is a technology-based and collaborative creative movement that uses rapid prototyping technologies to create objects and products in innovative ways. It focuses on the collaborative, creative development and realization of innovative ideas and their implementation in publicly accessible spaces. The steady growth of this movement has been facilitated by recent technological progress and the many new digital manufacturing possibilities that support low-threshold access to technology. This development is increasingly attracting the interest of universities. In this study, we present a framework for the different forms and formats of knowledge and technology transfer, respectively the Third Mission, as curated by a selected university-based maker space: the ViNN:Lab (Venture Innovation Lab) in Germany. We derived the framework from the exploration of different forms and formats of transfer activities in the maker space and the development of the number of users and user groups within a time frame of 6 years (2014–2019). Besides developing insights into the development of involved users and forms of usage, in this study, we also examine the following activities: (a) outreach activities, (b) practical interactions, and (c) research and development. As part of this case study, we briefly discuss how the ViNN:Lab enhances university–industry interaction, attracts new and even unexpected partners beside company partners, and how the ViNN:Lab acts as a space for the development of new ideas.