What is the name of your organization?
iFixit Foundation
What is the name of your solution?
iFixit EDU
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
iFixit EDU empowers students to change the world through innovative repair-centered education programs like the iFixit Technical Writing Project.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
United States
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
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What specific problem are you solving?
Our solution addresses two critical interconnected problems:
The world faces a growing e-waste crisis, with UN data showing 62 million tons generated in 2022 (only 22% recycled) and projections reaching 82 million tons annually by 2030. In the U.S. alone, 416,000 phones are discarded daily, despite being potentially repairable. This crisis persists partly due to a pervasive repair knowledge deficit. Even when repairs are physically possible, most people lack the technical knowledge, confidence, and community support to fix their own devices. Repair instructions are often difficult to access and not user-friendly—if they exist at all.
Meanwhile, students often graduate without the hands-on technical, digital, and collaborative skills—such as using tools, problem-solving, working in teams, and creating multimodal documentation—needed to thrive in today’s complex, technology-driven world. Schools and universities that seek community-engaged learning experiences to help students connect their classroom learning to real-world outcomes often struggle to access structured programs and partnerships that develop industry-ready skills.
These problems intersect in educational opportunity: while 30,000 students have participated in our program to date, millions more lack access to hands-on technical education. Simultaneously, billions of device owners worldwide struggle to find reliable repair information that would enable them to extend product lifespans and reduce waste.
What is your solution?
Our solution is a service-learning program that embeds repair education directly into university curricula. We partner with colleges and universities to offer a hands-on, highly collaborative learning experience through which students create quality repair documentation that is published on our popular repair wiki.
Here’s how our solution works:
1. Establish partnerships: We train and onboard participating instructors, helping them choose from a menu of projects to integrate into their coursework.
2. Distribute project materials: We provide each student team with a consumer electronic device and precision toolkits.
3. Guide students through the learning experience: Following our curriculum, students disassemble devices, document procedures with high-quality photography, and create clear technical documentation following professional standards.
4. Engage our expert feedback loop: Our technical writers provide guidance throughout the process, offering real-world editorial feedback that reinforces student learning.
5. Distribute repair knowledge globally: Completed guides are published on iFixit.com's repair wiki, where they help millions of people worldwide extend device lifespans.
The technology underpinning our solution includes:
-A collaborative wiki platform enabling distributed teams to create, edit, and publish technical documentation
-Educational infrastructure including digital curricula, feedback systems, and instructional resources
-Visual documentation tools for creating professional-quality repair guides
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution serves two target populations:
First, college students in need of relevant, hands-on technical education. Our program helps students develop essential professional skills including technical communication, visual documentation, problem-solving, and collaborative project management. Students overcome "fixophobia" while building confidence in their technical abilities. For many participants—particularly women and underrepresented minorities in STEM—this is their first opportunity to disassemble electronics and create professional technical documentation. The project provides a meaningful portfolio piece that demonstrates real-world impact, often cited in job interviews as a differentiating credential.
Second, our solution serves a global public seeking repair knowledge. These individuals span all demographics but are united by a common need: accessible information to fix broken devices. Student-created guides particularly benefit economically disadvantaged communities where repair is a financial necessity. By providing free, high-quality, step-by-step instructions in multiple languages, we empower people worldwide to extend device lifespans regardless of their technical background or economic status.
Through this dual-impact model, our solution addresses educational gaps for students while simultaneously democratizing repair knowledge for the broader public. Students directly experience how their academic work creates real-world value, while guide users gain the resources to save money, reduce waste, and maintain digital access through repair.
