The Maker Club: fuelled by curiosity

“Not knowing how to do something shouldn’t be embarrassing. It should be the reason you show up.”

That idea has shaped Ibrahim Waheed’s year as president of the Maker Club at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.

A software engineering graduate, Ibrahim is naturally drawn to building things and solving problems. This year, leading the Maker Club has challenged some of his ideas about what good leadership and innovation look like.

The club brings together students who want to make things, from coding games and designing jewellery to bookbinding and learning to solder for the first time. For Ibrahim, what people already know matters far less than giving them somewhere to begin and explore their ideas.

“I want someone to be able to walk into the Maker Club not knowing how to solder, code, bind a book or design anything, and still feel like they belong simply because they have a desire to make something.”

His approach has resonated across the University. Around 400 people joined the club this year, taking its total membership since it began to 1,741. The club is free to join, and events and materials are often free too. Its online Discord community has more than 1,300 members sharing advice and collaborating on projects and ideas.

The club’s programme is deliberately broad. Larger workshops have covered NFC chips and laser-cut jewellery, while smaller sessions have introduced students to bookbinding and lino stamp making. KiwiJam, a nationwide game jam, attracted around 225 sign-ups in Auckland this year.

Ibrahim says the variety is important. “One thing I keep hearing at our events is that people appreciate that we don’t just repeat whatever has worked before … we keep trying new things.”

That philosophy is behind the club’s new make-a-thon, where students develop a project over a semester rather than completing something in a single workshop. A new section on the Maker Club website gives members a place to document what they have made and share it with others.

For Ibrahim, being surrounded by people with different creative inclinations has also changed how he thinks. As a software engineer, he says it can be tempting to try to build something that works for everyone. The Maker Club has taught him something different.

“In art, something everybody simply likes can sometimes be less meaningful than something a smaller group genuinely loves.”

Advice from Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Technology and Prototyping Manager Trevor McGurk also helped shift Ibrahim’s focus from maximising attendance to creating worthwhile experiences. A 15-person lino stamp workshop can be every bit as valuable as a 225-person game jam if people leave excited by something they have discovered.

That same focus on giving people space to try extends to entrepreneurship. Making can be a first step towards entrepreneurship for students. Maker Club’s vending machine at Unleash Space gives students a low-pressure way to sell what they create.

The vending machine currently holds around 25 items, including free feminine hygiene products. It has generated about $2,100 in sales since its launch, with proceeds from sales going back to the student makers.

“For some people, that can be their first real taste of entrepreneurship,” Ibrahim says.

The CIE provides the space, equipment and support that allow much of this activity to happen, with Ibrahim describing Unleash Space as a shared home for the club.

Just as important has been the team around him.

Ibrahim credits his executive team with helping turn Maker Club from a group powered by individual enthusiasm into a more sustainable organisation, bringing greater structure, creative thinking and an intentional approach to wellbeing.

Together, these experiences have changed how he thinks about leadership and measuring impact. He began the year believing a president should carry more, solve more and make sure nothing went wrong. Instead, he’s learnt that a strong club depends on trust, structure and giving other people genuine ownership.

“I think that’s probably the biggest thing this role has taught me. Leadership isn’t really about how much you can personally accomplish. It’s about creating an environment where other people feel capable of doing things they never thought they could.”