We are excited to announce that Fablab Nepal | Impact Hub Kathmandu is actively supporting the 3-STEP Trainer Accreditation Course, a potent worldwide initiative led by the University College London (UCL) STEM Participation and Social Justice research team that started in February 2025. As one of the chosen HUB Leaders, we are honored to support this initiative to change makerspaces and Informal STEM Learning (ISL) settings to places that put social justice, accessibility, and inclusivity first.
Experienced ISL and makerspace practitioners who are already actively involved in their communities and prepared to increase their influence are the target audience for this exciting, nine-month online course. It seeks to give participants the skills and perspective they need to make equity a central part of their work and ultimately take the lead.
This course uses materials from the Making Spaces Project, a four-year global research project that created an online self-paced course and a handbook. Through the lens of equity, these tools encourage practitioners to think, reflect, and reimagine their spaces.
Participants in the 3-STEP approach assess their existing procedures, try out novel inclusive tactics, and ultimately serve as mentors to others in their area. The course not only encourages but also initiates change. Many of us have been inspired to reevaluate, reframe, and improve the way we present ourselves in our capacities as educators, community builders, and facilitators by the heavy emphasis on critical reflection.
Participants gain their position as certified 3-STEP trainers at the program’s conclusion, ready to mentor, coach, and assist other practitioners in their respective contexts. The intention is to start a chain reaction in which networks dedicated to fair learning environments disseminate information, concern, and action.
Fablab Nepal | Impact Hub Kathmandu is dedicated to spreading this ripple as a HUB Leader. We foster discussions about justice and belonging in innovation spaces while hosting, assisting, and motivating regional participants as they progress through the course. We think equity needs to be purposefully planned, implemented, and maintained rather than being an afterthought.
This course is a collective movement rather than merely a program. And we feel privileged to be sharing this journey with enthusiastic practitioners from all over the world, all striving for a day when everyone is empowered to grow, learn, and create.
