In 2021, Plus X will be offering the global learning programme Fab Academy at our new Brighton location, in the newest and most advanced Fab Lab in the UK.
Through Fab Academy, students can learn about the latest tools and processes in digital fabrication and rapid prototyping, with lectures delivered by MIT, and COVID-secure hands-on sessions run simultaneously at Fab Labs around the world.
What is Fab Academy
Fab Academy is a digital fabrication learning programme directed by Neil Gershenfeld of MIT’s Centre For Bits and Atoms. It’s a weekly course of intensive learning with globally taught lectures and local hands-on training with personal digital fabrication and prototyping technologies.
Digital Fabrication is the process of making physical products directly from designs on computers” or “manufacturing directly from Computer Aided Design (CAD) software”
At Fab Academy, students learn how to envision, prototype and document their ideas through many hours of hands-on experience with digital fabrication tools. The Fab Academy is a fast paced, hands-on learning experience where students plan and execute a new project each week! Each individual documents their progress for each project, resulting in a personal portfolio of technical accomplishments.
Students learn how to:
- Model products in CAD software, and then produce them with a variety of digital tools, from 3D printers to desktop milling machines
- Design and fabricate electronic circuits and then program them to prototype interactive devices, wearable technology and IoT projects
- Work collaboratively to make their own machines, robots and other tools
- Use resins, silicon and composites to produce high-fidelity 3D models and mechanical or structural parts
- Integrate hardware and software to produce devices that talk to each other; across the internet or to other platforms and services
- Develop projects commercially, manage IP and document their work for open-source collaboration and replication
- Produce digital art, smart textiles, robotics, musical instruments, medical devices, sustainable materials and other projects that they design themselves
When
- January – June 2021 (5 months)
- Training is held on Wednesdays 10am – 5pm (additional optional lectures are on Mondays at 2pm)
- Participants will have access to the Fablab Mon – Fri to work on their assignments and final project
Cost
£6,000
Where?
Admission Requirements
- No specific academic qualification s needed.
- Some familiarity with programming is useful.
- Participants will need their own laptop capable of running Inkscape, Fusion 360, Eagle and other core digital design software.
Global and Local
Fab Academy is taught simultaneously at fablabs around the world, from Bangalore to Yucatán. The students connect weekly for Global Lectures with Professor Neil Gershenfeld – Director of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms. After every global lecture, students get hands-on training in their local lab, and get to work on fast-paced and challenging assignments in a new technology each week.
The Fab Academy programme is based on MIT’s popular rapid-prototyping course ‘How To Make (Almost) Anything – both courses are taught by Prof. Neil Gershenfeld. The Fab Academy Diploma is awarded by the Fab Academy community with the support of the Fab Lab Network and Fab Foundation.
The Fab Academy Graduation takes place in early-August during the annual Fab Lab Conference. 2020-2021 students will graduate in the FAB16 Conference, in Canada.
Find Out More
To find out more or to apply, contact the Plus X Workshop Manager, Andrew Sleigh: [email protected]
Fab Academy global site: http://fabacademy.org
