The Technological University of Uruguay (Utec) launched a toy "refactory" project for engineering students with a focus on circular economy, environmental care or work of interest to the community.
The idea replicates an experience carried out in Portugal that Álvaro Pena, director of Special Programs at Utec, and Ezequiel Aleman, from the Language Program, met during a work trip. There they saw the implementation of furniture reconversion and the opportunity arose to carry out workshops in Uruguay but of remanufacturing toys, within the framework of the Bricks and Bits program, which teaches robotics through games.
In 2018 the workshops began as part of a research project with the English University of Nottingham. 130 students have already participated in the two editions held in 2018 and in the one held in February this year, in four cities of the interior.
The idea is that the student develops his or her imaginative and design side, in direct contact with people outside the university; the process begins when a child and a family member come to Utec, after an open call to bring a toy in disuse, broken, or that no longer involves any emotional bond for the owner.
The group of students holds an interview to find out the child's preferences, what he/she plays, what he/she likes and why he/she does not enjoy what he/she brought. In the last minutes of the meeting, the toy is uncovered so that the group can see it and decide how to remake it.
Aleman says that some children arrive with a list of the changes they want in the toy and others don't, and they still come away dazzled.
Likewise, the project coordinators seek to involve more women, who are not so present in the workshops, an absence that is explained by the profile of those enrolled in engineering degrees.
Recyclable materials (paper, cardboard, plastics, other toys, wood, electronics) and 3D printers can be used for this process; it is not allowed to buy new objects.
A second interview with the child is also planned, so that he can see the model that was designed to remanufacture the toy.
Finally, the reconverted object is given to the child in a "play date" in which the whole project is reviewed, including the changes that were defined before the final object was created.
The entire workshop lasts three days and, according to the promoters of the initiative, the result for the children has always been satisfactory.
There are many stories to tell. One girl brought a doll that she had little use for, and during the interview she talked about her passion for music. The Utec students got the message and got to work: the clothes and colors were changed, and a piano with MP3 was created. At the end of the process, the girl could see how her doll had become a pianist and she could listen to her favorite music.
Another child brought a dinosaur that didn't work. The young students fixed the malfunction, recovered the original sounds and added other superheroes, designed with 3D printers.
The students' response is very positive, Pena and Aleman point out. Despite the challenge of not disappointing, how many things are more satisfying than giving a toy to a child?
There is a waiting list of children who want to participate with their toy, and a call for donations of objects is planned. The workshops were held at the Utec headquarters in Fray Bentos, Rivera, Juan Lacaze and Maldonado.
The toy factory is part of a non-compulsory cross-curricular programme; the activities are open and independent of the course and year that each student is studying.
Students can be from any of the careers, but mainly those attending Mechatronics Engineering, Medical Biotechnology, Information Technology, Logistics, Bachelor of Science and Dairy Technology have participated.
The coordinators underline that the project has great potential from a creative point of view, and that for children it can mean learning to avoid consumerism (a toy having a second life can also become an object that is not bought). They also highlight how this type of approach influences the matrix of engineering education and the application of more active methodologies.
For Utec it is key that this type of initiatives are located in the interior of the country, where one in ten students are part of the first generation of the university, of which some arrived with difficulties in the strong academic level. Aleman says that this helps them to think like engineers and to focus on finding effective solutions with a future perspective.
Source: La Diaria
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