Repair Week: Electronics Repair and an Evening Talk

 Electronics Repair Party: 10:00-16:15

Book your place at the Electronics Repair Party here

Bring in your broken phone, laptop or household appliance for a one-to-one consultations with the expert repair technicians from REMAKE and The Restart Project. Book a slot to attempt a repair of any small electrical and electronics you have at home - laptops, headphones, portable radios, lamps, kettles, toasters, printers and more! At the event you will learn how to find faults, take apart and safely repair your own broken device with support from the Restart Project's experienced coaches and Fernando from REMAKE. With a bit of help from the experts, you will become empowered to fix your own device, while learning the basics of repair and the importance of the Right to Repair. Come ready to learn!

To take part in the session you will need to bring:
- a small electronic or electrical product in need of repair. Back up any data beforehand!
- the product's power supply and any accessory which might be linked to the problem.

The Restart Project is a London-based charity fixing our relationship with electronics. By encouraging people to use their electronics longer and collecting and sharing data from community repair initiatives globally on barriers to repair, Restart pushes for legislation for the Right to repair in the UK and across Europe. The Restart Project is a founding member of the European Right to Repair Campaign, a coalition pushing for legislation requiring manufacturers of all electrical and electronic products to design for repairability, while providing access to all independent repairers and the general public to repair manuals, affordable spare parts and long-term software and security updates.

REMAKE is a free community-based repair project that holds Repair Parties at universities around the world with a fun, collaborative spirit. We thrive on skill-sharing and collaborative learning to fix technology and our relationship with it. Our three-pronged missions combines teaching about repair, community building and policy lobbying to address e-waste from a grassroots approach. Fernando, now a UCL STEaPP graduate, is the founder and chief technician of REMAKE Repair Parties. His interest for repair, which started at youth, combined with his passion for public policy and sustainability in his undergraduate days, leading to the birth of REMAKE in Hong Kong in 2018. Ever since, he has been training new technicians and spreading the word on the importance of repair. 

Evening Talk: the Right to Repair with Mark Miodownik: 18:00-19:00

Book your place at the Evening Talk here

We love our electronic gadgets, gizmos and appliances. But when it comes to repairing and caring for them, UK citizens are second only to Norway when it comes to producing electronic waste. We have a culture of buying single-use, throwaway, cheaper-the-better, irreparable electronic goods. But the Age of Consumerism is over. If the kettles, toasters, phones and fridges we buy aren’t made to be repairable, and aren’t repaired, we are going to run out of things to buy, stuff to make them from and money to buy them with.

In this talk, Mark Miodownik explores how we got into this unsustainable situation, explores the fightback of the Right to Repair movement, and seeks to empower citizens to prolong the life of their electronics and mechanical goods by fixing them.

If you cannot join Mark's talk in person, join his online talk about the Right to Repair 14th Oct 5-6pm at the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Important: the Institute of Making's COVID-19 policy for Repair Week

The Institute of Making has adopted some temporary measures for our in-person events during Repair Week, to ensure the safety of their team and to help everyone attending to feel as comfortable as possible.

Negative test result required:

All event participants coming to the Institute of Making will need to show proof of a negative lateral flow test taken within 48 hours of the event. You can either show your test result on your NHS app, or show text message confirmation of a negative test result. Unfortunately they will not be able to give access to anyone without a negative test result.

Links: Order a free lateral flow test / Register your test result on the gov.uk website

Face coverings:

At the Institute of Making's in-person events, all participants are required to wear a face covering. If you are unable to wear a face covering, please book onto their online events instead. Their staff are happy to help you find an online event or to work with you to work out a type of face covering that will enable you to attend the in-person event. Email events@instituteofmaking.org.uk with any questions.

COVID symptoms:

If you experience any COVID-19 symptoms, including a temperature, please cancel your event booking through Eventbrite and stay at home. We know it can be disappointing to miss an event, but it is important to keep everyone safe.

Do you have specific access requirements?

The Institute of Making would like to make sure that everyone can join their events and use their website as easily as possible. Please message them if you need any particular support or assistance while attending their space or using their platforms, so they can ensure those. They are also always interested in feedback to help them improve access to their activities. Contact Sara by following this link.