The CALL Scotland Maker Day - from ATiA to the Edinburgh Futures Institute

Posted by Claire Harrison on the 29th August, 2025

Category Assistive Technology Severe & Complex Support Needs

Back in the gloomy depths of January 2025 I headed off to the Assistive Technology Industry Association annual conference in Orlando, Florida. All thanks to the AT Scholar programme, which paid for the travel, accommodation and conference fees. It was an incredible trip, and you can read about my experiences over on this earlier blog.  

ATiA January 2025

On the final day of the conference, an ‘AT Maker’ event took place, where attendees came together to share their ideas through posters, demonstrations and activities. It was a fantastic display of innovation and creativity and I left the event inspired to bring people together in Scotland who have similar interests.  

After talking to uCreate Makerspace colleagues here at the University of Edinburgh, we decided to run a pilot ‘AT Maker Day’, inviting staff working in schools to come along and try out 3D Printing and assembling an assistive switch.  

The Edinburgh Futures Institute Maker Space August 2025 

So last Friday we welcomed seven participants to the first ever CALL Scotland AT Maker Day, at the Maker Space in the Edinburgh Futures Institute. Our fantastic Maker Space colleagues generously gave their time and provided everyone with an explanation and introduction to the processes involved with 3D printing and soldering. Then the participants went on to add different switch tops to the slicing software, and experiment with adding different elements. We used the files available from the Makers Making Change website and pre-printed the base parts to the Interact Switch so that the participants could choose one of the designs and print their choice of switch top. The step-by-step instructions were extremely helpful when it came to assembling the switches post-soldering. 

What next?

Bringing together a group of people into the same space with a shared interest in Assistive Technology to learn about the possibilities of 3D Printing and more, gave everyone an opportunity to connect, talk about their experiences and share ideas. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and we see a real possibility of creating a community of people with a shared interest and passion for all things Assistive Technology – perhaps this was the first gathering of an AT Maker Scotland community? 

If you are interested in being part of future events and developments, please email claire.harrison@ed.ac.uk to register your interest.