FabLabNet: Central European network of innovative and creative labs

Our mission: connecting Central European creative labs to boost local innovation capacity.
The story of the network started back in 2016 from the project FabLabNet, financed by the European program Interreg Central Europe, when nine Fab Labs from nine central European countries met in Vienna to tackle challenges that most labs in the region are facing: how to better engage local communities, how to connect closer to education, how to contribute to the business sector? In one word, how to be integrate into its local innovation ecosystem?

Building a network by making together
To address these three questions, they conducted researches, shared experiences and best practices, made connection out of their region to come out with three pilot activities. More than 600 participants from four countries brought their idea into a prototype thanks to the FabLabNet mentoring programs, more than 50 grass root innovators from five countries positioned their products on the market, supported by the FabLabNet coaching programs and more than 300 individuals from all ages, gender and background followed practical courses on new fabrication technologies. To support these actions, 5 Fabboxes -real Fab Lab in a box- were realized in 5 countries, enabling the consortium to reach the most remote area of Central Europe. At last,, the nine partners launched the European School of Makers, a joint curriculum composed by all selected courses proposed by each lab.

A growing network
Since spring 2019, FabLabNet: Central European network of innovative and creative labs, is mature enough to welcome any labs from central Europe to join. The financial support of Interreg will come to its end, and the network will then fly from its own resources, capitalising the results of the project to go further with the activities implemented so far.
The network is an informal entity set up by its members, who share the values and agree to contribute to the mission and vision statement on a voluntary basis. It does not have a formal legal existence. There is no membership fee. Any organization from the region that agrees with the mission and vision statement of the network and meets the following criteria is welcome to join.

Check out the Lonely LabNet Maker’s Guide to Central Europe!

The 9 founders of the network are:

Fablab MUSE  Trento (IT)
HappyLab Vienna (AT)
Fablab Budapest Budapest (HU)
MakerSpace GmbH Garching (DE)
Strojlab Brno (CZ)
Fablab Bielsko-Biala Bielsko-Biala (PL)
RogLab Ljubljana (SI)
Fablab Bratislava  Bratislava (SK)
Fablab Zagreb Zagreb (HR)


The establishment of this network has been financed by the Interreg Central Europe Programme in the frame of the FabLabNet project.

 

Except​ ​where​ ​otherwise​ ​noted,​ ​this​ ​work​ ​is​ ​licensed​ ​under 

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/