Exploring the future of creative learning
Fixperts promotes skills and values which are critical to the future of education, the future of work and young people’s well-being. We’re not alone. Here you can access research, news and contributions from the network of like-minded educators.
Teaching Fixperts
Tutors adapt the Fixperts framework to their different settings. In this section you can find notes and reflections on what they did, what worked and what issues they experienced.
All Insights
The Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2024 Shortlist
2024 Shortlist announced for the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards. Celebrating creativity, care and ingenuity, the Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards is now in it's 12th year. With over 55 universities across 25 countries engaged [...]
2024 Awards submit by 2nd September!
- The 2024 RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards will take place in 26th September 2024. We know Fixperts courses have been run at Universities around the world and can’t wait to watch the fantastic films of your projects! [...]
Announcing a strong shortlist for the 2023 RCA HHCD Fixperts Awards
Shortlist announced for the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2023. The Helen Hamlyn Center for Design Fixperts Award jury had a tough task this year. As champions of human-centred design and inclusivity they had [...]
New date for 2023 RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards!
- Calling all Fixperts projects! The RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2023 are open. We know you’ve been busy and we can’t wait to watch your fantastic Fix Films! You are welcome to submit films for this year's [...]
Winner announced for the 2022 Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award
We’re thrilled to announce the winner of the 2022 Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards. - The prestigious awards champion human-centred design and acknowledges the brilliant work carried out by Fixperts around the world. The [...]
Bumper shortlist announced for the 2022 RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards
Bumper shortlist announced for the 2022 Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards. The RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award champions human-centred design and through a call out to universities across the world we have received an [...]
Enter now! The RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2022 are open.
- Enter now! The RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2022 are open. It’s that time of the year … and we can’t wait to see all of your brilliant projects! - The Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn [...]
Winners announced for Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2021
We’re excited to declare the winners of this year’s Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards. - The prestigious awards champion human-centred design and acknowledges the brilliant work carried out by Fixperts around the world. The [...]
Shortlist announced for RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2021
Shortlist announced for the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2021. We’re thrilled to share this year’s shortlist of inspiring projects from all around the world. Now in it’s ninth year, this prestigious award celebrates [...]
Teaching Fixperts in a time of Covid-19 – Insight from Mike Kann
Fixperts in a time of Covid-19 – Insight from Mike Kann Author: Mr Mike Kann, Programme Director, Industrial Design and Technology BA, Lecturer (Education) in Industrial Design and Fixperts course leader at Brunel University London. Fixperts course [...]
Calling all Fixperts! The RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2021 are open for submissions.
- Calling all Fixperts! The RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2021 are open for submissions. We know you’ve been busy with brilliant projects. Please apply so we can celebrate your work. - The Royal College of Art Helen [...]
Running a Fixperts course during a pandemic – Insight from Professor Gad Charny
Image Credit: Climbing Maze by Itai & Kama Fix Film Running a Fixperts course during a pandemic – Insight from Professor Gad Charny Author: Professor Gad Charny, Fixperts course leader at HIT, Holon Institute of Technology [...]
Fixperts Improvement on the Social Responsibility Practices Course
_ Fixperts Improvement on the Social Responsibility Practices Course Authors: Abdusselam Selami Cifter, Aylin Ayna, Inci Olgun, Senay Cabuk at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University _ Since 2018, we have been running the “Social Responsibility Practices” course of [...]
New Resources Alert! Top Tips for Fixperts
New resources for Fixperts in universities and schools Fixperts has been running in universities since 2013 and through this period we have learnt invaluable insights from the tutors running the programme. We’ve recently had conversations with some [...]
Winner announced for Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2020
Drum roll please ... Winner announced for the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2020. The awards are now in their eighth year and this year we saw a brilliant set of entries from universities [...]
Shortlist announced for Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards 2020
Shortlist announced for the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards. We're excited to share this year's shortlist of incredible projects from all around the world. Now in it's eighth year, this prestigious award celebrates creativity [...]
Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award 2020 is open for submissions.
Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award 2020 is open for submissions. Calling all undergraduate Fixperts! We’re looking for inspirational Fixperts projects from the last 18-months to apply for the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn [...]
The future of designing and making in schools
Think Ahead Tank: The future of designing and making in schools The take up of Design & Technology as a GCSE subject in schools is plummeting. It's the tip of an iceberg; in a rapidly changing world [...]
Building a radical vision for the future of design and making in schools
Building a radical vision for the future of design and making in schools Back in June we had a bit of a rant about the future of design and making in schools. It was a relief to [...]
Showcasing the next generation of problem solvers
Showcasing the next generation of problem solvers LOVING that the New York Times thought to offer this spotlight to young engineers, makers, do-ers and thinkers, who are tackling problems from discarded soap to gender stereotypes. We remember [...]
Calling 2018 graduates from design subjects
Calling 2018 graduates from design subjects We know, another competition. But really, its an opportunity! What could designing a pair of glasses mean in a social and inclusive design context? ARTS THREAD has teamed [...]
Fixing STEM Competitions…
Fixing STEM Competitions... We used to think we should have our own Fixperts Schools Competition, but we're increasingly thinking we should just infiltrate all the other schools competitions out there, bringing them some Fixperts social design love [...]
Winner announced for Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Awards 2019
Congratulations to Nevo Fryd and Elinor Tal from Holon Institute of Technology for this year’s winning Fix Film, Garden Tool Grip for Thala. The Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award is now in it’s seventh [...]
Talking about a revolution
As anyone who gets our newsletter will know we've been stewing on big questions, and coming to some difficult conclusions. This has involved saying some things out loud which previously we kept among ourselves about the state [...]
Shortlist announced for Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Awards 2019
Shortlist announced for the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards. Celebrating creativity in human-centred design across all disciplines, the Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Awards is now in it's seventh year... and it has definitely been a [...]
Futurekind: design by and for the people
Futurekind: design by and for the people So yes, yet again we know about this one because we're in it (hurrah!). But we're a tiny part of a broad and useful survey of projects which, rather than [...]
Microsoft embracing inclusivity as ‘it’s point of view’
Microsoft embracing inclusivity as 'it's point of view' We only have the vaguest idea of what Super Bowl is let alone what it means in the US, but even we know it's a key advertising moment for [...]
Fixing television – one to watch?
Fixing television approaches a genre.. We like to think we inspired Big Life Fix (not necessarily a total fantasy!), and seeing this not dissimilar format on Belgian TV makes us think fixing programmes might just be approaching genre status. [...]
Fixperts hits the headlines in Milan #brokennature
Fixperts is exhibiting in internationally acclaimed exhibition in Milan. We’re super excited to be included with Broken Nature, a thematic exhibition curated by Paola Antonelli of Museum of Modern Art, New York. A total of nine Fixperts projects [...]
Grant for STEM activities for schools and colleges
Grant for STEM activities for schools and colleges Got an idea for the classroom or STEM club? The Royal Society has launched their partnership scheme – a £3,000 grant for schools to use on STEM activities for [...]
Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award 2019 is open for submissions.
Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award 2019 is open for submissions. Calling all Fixperts! We want to hear from all of the undergraduate students and tutors who have been involved in a Fixperts project in the [...]
Design meets life
Design meets life Healthcare is a rich territory for user- /human- centred and inclusive design, and new ideas of open design and DIY design; the collision of human need and systems, emotion and technology is unparalleled. Our list is [...]
MPavilion opens in Melbourne
MPavilion opens in Melbourne This month the MPavilion, an 'innovative civic space and cultural laboratory for the community to engage and share' opens in Melbourne, kicking off a four-month programme of events from over 500 collaborators. There'll [...]
Banging the drum for creative education
Banging the drum for creative education We're always interested in what Bill Lucas at the Centre for Real World Learning is up to; his long term, evidence-based, explorations of the value of creative education bring a welcome even-handedness across arts and [...]
STEM undergraduate awards
STEM undergraduate awards So the XPrize this is not, concerned as it is with themes of Defense, Robots and Automotive, but maybe that's all the more reason to bring a bit of prosocial design thinking to The Telegraph STEM Awards. Open [...]
Building spaces to build the future
Building spaces to build the future Recently we've been asked about how to plan spaces for making, in schools, in community spaces and in civic spaces. We think this can start in a classroom, and that vision and [...]
A floating university. Inspiration – or a hint of what’s to come?
A floating university. Inspiration - or a hint of what's to come? If I was likely to graduate with over £50,000 of personal debt, I'd be thinking quite carefully about what else I could do with that money. One [...]
Why would you study a ‘useless’ subject?
Why would you study a 'useless' subject? While talk of robots and being human is the regular soundtrack at FixEd, the immediate challenges of assessment and paid work are more likely to influence subject choice. We all need [...]
How do our kids beat the robots?
How do our kids beat the robots? OK so FixEd selects is meant to be external links, and we're proud to be included in this piece, but you'll forgive us when you hear how neatly this Radio [...]
Design skills – not just for designers?
Design skills - not just for designers? We do love a good statistic and the Design Council are masters. From design skills contributing £209bn to the UK economy to people using design skills being 47% more productive, their recent [...]
3,000 young creatives under one roof at New Designers
3,000 young creatives under one roof at New Designers If you did want to take the temperature of the discipline, what better place to start than New Designers, which showcases the work from over 200 creative courses [...]
How to get more girls into ‘techy’ STEM clubs
How to get more girls into 'techy' STEM clubs We've been getting a bit irritable on the subject of girls engagement with tech. Using caps on Twitter and everything - I know right! But really. You'd think a) [...]
My Naturewatch Camera: could we love it more?
My Naturewatch Camera: could we love it more? Every now and again a project comes along that just sums it all up. This is one for us; sure, maybe it's not solving any big problem, but it's [...]
Announcing the 2018 RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award
We are very excited to announce the winner of the RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award! Once again we received an amazing selection of inspiring films from undergraduates from around the world. The films included a diverse mix of projects [...]
‘Design students lack workplace skills’
'Design students lack workplace skills' Creative agency Michon’s Designing the Future report has been released, finding that graduates lack management skills, universities aren't preparing students enough and designers should step in and share their insights. An interesting read, though some of [...]
Not the average show of chairs and polished products
Not the average show of chairs and polished products As determined improvisers the polish of Milan Design Week doesn't usually hold much for us, but last month U-Joints focus on a much neglected design component – the joint – caught our [...]
Technology for good
Technology for good We like a balanced argument, so, exhausted by talk about how advances in technology are replacing jobs and becoming a threat to our society as we know it, we keep an eye out for examples [...]
Prototypes influencing SDGs
Prototypes influencing SDGs The 17 Sustainable Development Goals target poverty, gender equality and climate action by 2030... things we should all be able to sign up to. Steps Centre explores an interesting angle and discusses how smaller, potentially more [...]
So what do we think about Design Thinking?
So what do we think about Design Thinking? We're hearing a lot at the moment about Design Thinking for schools and young people, and as an organisation rooted in creativity and design, surely we should be cheerleading?! That [...]
Connect with respect – Childnet filmmaking competition
Connect with respect - Childnet filmmaking competition We do like a competition, not because we're competitve, oh no not us. Actually the opposite in a way, in that where Fixperts is concerned we firmly believe that the learning [...]
Alternative materials paving the way to a better future
Alternative materials paving the way to a better future 'Paving' - see what we did there? Anyway. We're always happy to see talk on 'reduce, reuse' at the forefront of the news – it's embedded in the [...]
Inclusive fashion design – bring it on!
Inclusive fashion design – bring it on! 'One size fits all' was the promise of mass-manufacturing, once bringing financially accessible products to the masses. Times have changed, expectations have changed and now, new manufacturing technologies mean its a [...]
FixCamp needs you! Recruiting for camp activity leaders now…
We could not be more thrilled to be delivering a new programme this summer in the form of FixCamp. Extending the spirit of Fixperts, we're taking it to the max, solving big problems and making big things! Expect the [...]
Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award 2018 is open for submissions.
We want to hear from all of the undergraduate students and tutors who have been involved in a Fixperts project in the last two years. Once again your inspiring Fix Films can be nominated for the Royal College of [...]
Connected citizens taking tech to the next level
Connected citizens taking tech to the next level We couldn't be more tired of talking in vague terms about the rise of the robots and workplace skills. That's why we like it when we see real projects [...]
Is this the future of 3D printing?
Is this the future of 3D printing? Researchers from Cornwall have merged 3D printing and virtual reality (VR). Yes, that thought takes a minute to sink in and no its not a movie. The user can alter [...]
Call for entries: Core77 Design Awards
Call for entries: Core77 Design Awards Back to today and we're calling all you talented Fixperts, designers, thinkers and makers. The Core77 Design Awards deadline for entry is the end of this month and Core77 welcomes students [...]
Rereading: Solving all the wrong problems
Rereading: Solving all the wrong problems A “smart” button and zipper that alerts you if your fly is down anyone? Or an app to locate your yacht? This article just doesn't get old! When we stumbled across [...]
What skills will be needed in a fully automated world?
What skills will be needed in a fully automated world? Talk about the types of skills we will need in the ever more immediate future is everywhere. Following a 2-year study Tom Vander Ark questions autonomous automation [...]
Getting your head around copyright laws
Read our teaching tip on copyright law.
Lego Education shares ‘how to’ create a makerspace
Lego Education shares 'how to' create a makerspace Who doesn't love Lego, and broadly speaking it's good to see their Education offer expanding. Like us, they want to engage the eager and curious by providing simple steps [...]
UTCs – back from the dead?
UTCs - back from the dead? University Technical Colleges had been declared a failed experiment. But now The National Foundation for Educational Research have released a report saying 'project-based learning and employer involvement has helped to create [...]
Case Study: 3D printing used in an interesting way to engage pupils (finally!)
Case Study: 3D printing used in an interesting way to engage pupils (finally!) We skip over a lot of 3D printing projects in schools as we've found the engagement opportunities tend not to match the hype (cynical? [...]
Teacher explains creative problem-solving skills are lacking in the workplace
Teacher explains creative problem-solving skills are lacking in the workplace We're always scanning for examples of inventive approaches to hands-on learning in the classroom, and so we were impressed by Nebraska Public Power District, who've funded 10 [...]
Newsletter: December
We're up and running! FixEd is the think-and-do tank concerned with inspiring and equipping creative, ingenious and generous problem solvers around the world (especially, though not exclusively, Fixperts). It's already two months since our launch and all our long-requested [...]
December news for members
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Buzz around the first global tests on CPS
Buzz around the first global tests on CPS In November PISA released the results to the first global tests on collaborative problem-solving. Singapore came top, with the UK trailing at 15th place. But could this focus on [...]
Positives and negatives come from government’s autumn budget
Positives and negatives come from government's autumn budget We were happy to hear of the funding and support that teachers received in last months budget announcements, however limited. Overall we're disappointed as again there's no recognition of [...]
FastCo agrees with us – creative problem-solving skills are critical
FastCo agrees with us - creative problem-solving skills are critical Well not just with us - PISA got there some time ago. But we like the way they pitch it: "With an unmistakable need for more creative [...]
A call to action from Designs of the Year
A call to action from Designs of the Year We're always excited to see the Beazley Designs of the Year exhibition at the Design Museum; this year with themes of activism presented alongside craft it's a provocative [...]
Case study: Girls into STEM through co-designed programme
Case study: Girls into STEM through co-designed programme We're proud of our track record on gender balance, especially in the maker world, without targeting it through a specific programme. But sometimes more focus and directed energy is [...]
How truly disruptive could a focus on making be?
How truly disruptive could a focus on making be? Not very, according to this research piece. But education is an exception - and Fixperts is cited as one of the signs of change: "help[ing] children to learn [...]
Announcing the 2017 RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award
We are very excited to announce the winner of the RCA Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award! This year we received a fantastic selection of inspiring films from undergraduates across nine countries. The films included a real mix of projects with [...]
Fixperts moves from design in universities to STEM in schools
It was only two years ago, just as the Fixperts programme really embedded in universities internationally, and the Fixperts archive reached a couple of hundred of films, that our attention shifted to schools. Our take up in universities was [...]
Calling all Fixperts: Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Fixperts Award 2017
If you are an undergraduate student or tutor who has been part of a Fixperts project we want to hear about it! Once again we are asking for your fantastic FixFilms for the 2017 Royal College of Art Helen [...]
Think piece: Who owns a ‘fix’?
In this blog I want to explore two interrelated themes in the Fixperts story thus far: ownership of the ‘fixes’ (the outcomes of the collaborations), and their potential wider applicability beyond the collaboration through which they were generated. These [...]
Think piece: Fixing the world through open design
In my convoluted role as educator, designer, maker and writer, I have been slowly watching an evolution within design practice. This view has grown out of piecing together clues, including Fixperts, Sugru and Faraworkshop, like one of those super [...]
Think piece: Fixing as a way of resisting
Artwork by Asaf Agranat, 2012. Written by Ravid Rovner 1811 It was a turning point in the history of resistance to economic injustice. The first to lose their jobs were textile artisans, replaced with the newly industrialized looms [...]
Schools perspective: Falinge Park School
The Fixperts workshop gave family members and students the opportunity to research, design and make solutions to genuine problems. The aim was to let the students be creative and use their own problem solving skills to explore their capabilities [...]
University perspective: 12 weeks, 18 participants, 7.5 projects
When you knock at the door of a design school with the proposal of making a workshop they normally look at you with an odd expression and say they’ll get back to you. When you knock at a design [...]