Now settled into its new location downtown, the Syracuse Innovators Guild is looking to explore more opportunities to work with students at Syracuse University and area schools.

Syracuse native Mo Morsi is the co-founder and vice president of the guild, an organization that offers people a ‘hackerspace,’ or a place to work on collaborative projects while socializing and having fun.

‘Hackerspaces around the world have formed with the concept that if you bring smart people together and give them the resources, they will do cool things,’ Morsi said.

Morsi said he saw the need in the Syracuse community for a space where people could meet and socialize. The guild moved into its current location at 224 Harrison St. in Syracuse in January.

‘Home is where the heart is,’ he said in an e-mail. ‘Syracuse needs this. We need the hacker spirit. We need people to come together to innovate while having fun at the same time.’

The creators met in February 2010 to discuss forming the organization, he said. Although the organization is still in its early days of formation, it became a registered nonprofit in New York in November, Morsi said.

Most of the guild’s events are open to the public and include activities like movie and game nights, a weekly open house, workshops and classes, Morsi said. The guild held an open house Wednesday at 8 p.m. and will host a game night Saturday at 8 p.m., according to the guild’s website. The organization’s first workshop and class will be on March 18 at 7 p.m., according to the website.

The group’s initiative is based on collaboration between people with various interests working on projects in a relaxed and fun atmosphere, he said. It’s up to the members to work on projects they are interested in and make the most out of the space, Morsi said.

In the future, he said the guild hopes to do more community service projects with local volunteers and bring technology to the community and schools. Several people in the Syracuse City School District and area universities have expressed an interest in doing some projects, such as robotics competitions, with some classes, Morsi said.

The guild’s office is full of gadgets and learning resources, and books in PDF and paper format will be available on various topics, including how to program an iPhone, according to the website. The group is also planning collaborative projects, such as building a giant keyboard for the RockBand video game, according to the website.

‘It sounds very innovative,’ said Michael Tassini, a sophomore anthropology major. ‘If it appeals to a lot of people, it could be cool. But it sounds like it would only attract a very specific group.’

Visitors can currently use power tools like resistors and capacitors, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, digital resources, a wireless high-speed network, a projector and other resources at the guild’s office, he said.

Students and adults of all ages frequently visit the space, Morsi said. Many of the current members have a background in areas like software and electronics, he said, but librarians, musicians, mechanical and civil engineers, and businessmen have also shown interest in the organization.

‘The idea has a lot of backing,’ said Chelsea Kowal, a senior biomedical engineering major. ‘Some of the major problems in our society stem from problems with technology, so I think it’s an extremely good idea if you give people access to tools to create things to further their technological ideas.’

The group welcomes donations to keep expanding the variety of resources it offers to the community, and nonmembers are always welcome to visit the office, Morsi said.

‘It’s been a great ride, but I just want to have fun, not make this about work or experience,’ he said. ‘It’s just about having fun and nerding, geeking out.’

kvdolins@syr.edu

 

 

Published on March 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm