Professor Jordi Ojeda, representative of the FabLab TecnoCampus, actively participates in the First Ibero-American FabLabs Meeting, an event organized by the FabLaT and IberoFAB networks under the motto of “circular community”. This meeting, held from November 23 to 25, took place between the FabLab of the Center for Innovation in Circular Economy of the Madrid City Council and the FabLab of the University of the Americas in Quito, Ecuador, allowing the virtual participation of interested parties from all over the world. world.
FabLab is the English acronym for the expression Fabrication Laboratory, a concept that emerged at the beginning of the 21st century and has spread throughout the world, with facilities of different types and dimensions. All of them respect the principles of the original idea, which is to make local laboratories available to society that promote creativity.
During the three days of the meeting, FabLabs from all over Latin America met to share experiences and knowledge about initiatives around the circular economy. Dr. Ojeda, professor of the Department of Technology at TecnoCampus and head of the STEAM FabLab, highlights the importance of this meeting: “The concept of ‘circular community’ has allowed us to exchange experiences on some examples that my colleagues from the Chair of Circular Economy and Sustainability of the TecnoCampus, real cases where you can see how to optimize resources, reduce the consumption of raw materials and recover waste by recycling it or giving it a second life as a new product,” explains Ojeda. For example, he adds, “in “At the meeting we were able to see urban furniture made from waste that, once crushed, can be used as material for 3D printers, prepared to work with these recycled materials.”
Throughout the meeting, Ojeda took part in different debates. On the first day, he contributed to the round table “IberoFab: opportunities and synergies”, and on the second day, he participated in the first meeting of university FabLabs at the headquarters of the Francisco de Vitoria University in Pozuelo de Alarcón.
Ojeda explains the relevance of the meeting and the opportunities that open up for the FabLabs communities: “The evolution of additive manufacturing technology has had exponential growth in recent years, and the ambition to innovate under the premise of the circular economy has promoted the need for collaboration and training between professionals from various disciplines”.
Ojeda also highlights the diversity of participants: “Architects, biologists, pharmacists and professionals from various specialties, such as mechanics, computer scientists, chemicals and electronics, gathered. This diversity will allow the development of training activities and network projects, facilitating the realization of projects more complex and sharing resources.
Regarding future opportunities, Dr. Ojeda reported on the initiative to create a national network of FabLabs, as well as a specific network of university FabLabs that will connect with the Latin American network. This collaboration seeks to enhance entrepreneurship capacity, foster creativity and stimulate innovation in the region.
Currently, Jordi Ojeda coordinates the STEAM FabLab at TecnoCampus, a space that is part of the STEAM vocations project to promote scientific and technological interest among young people. “The FabLab STEAM is an open creation space where students and teachers can freely develop their talents, using the resources we make available to them,” he explains. This Ibero-American meeting has marked a milestone in promoting collaboration and innovation between different FabLabs at a national and international level.
