“FABLABs – new technologies in adult education” project is a Strategic Partnership that involves 6 organisations from Finland, France, Iceland, Poland and Portugal acting as fablabs and makerspaces. The objective of the project is to share good practices on teaching methodologies used in fablab work and targeted at adult learners. Fablabs (laboratories of digital fabrication) are a new type of learning environments and a network of learning communities. They are community-based spaces focused on technological innovation, do-it-yourself and do-it-with-others production and make-to-learn approach, and they provide their users with introduction to new technologies. The project aims at: exchanging experiences and good practices between the participating organisations, exchanging education methods and practices, professional development of people working in fablabs as educators and managers, comparative research on teaching new technologies in non-formal education in various European countries and, finally, at strengthening cooperation and networking between fablabs in Europe. The final result of the project will be the project guidelines on educational activities and methods used in fablab work. The main project activities will be six transnational project meetings, gathering fablab managers and educators, local workshops for adult learners in each country and a collaborative work of partners on the final result (the guidelines). With this project we aim at spreading knowledge about fablab idea and approach and having an impact on other fablabs and educational institutions in our respective countries. Project results will be directly implemented into our educational practices, as well as shared with fablab community around the world. With this project we would like fablabs to be recognized as a new type of modern learning environments that support adult learners in gaining basic skills and key competences, using science and technology. The impact of the project will also refer to recognition of fablab movement as a network of powerful learning communities, that are able to collaborate on local, national and global levels.
By implementing the project we aimed to recognize good practices in providing education on new technologies to adult learners using a FabLab concept of work. Our goal was to explore how learning processes are organized within our organisations. We wanted to know which learning methods and practices are worth sharing, and how to assist adults on their learning journey. We wanted to bring a more learner-centered dimension to our practice. We also intended to support those working in FabLabs in their development as managers and educators. On the other hand, we aimed to support adult learners by recognizing their learning needs and motivations. Lastly, we hoped to strengthen the cooperation and networking between FabLabs from various countries and to strengthen the international dimension of organisations participating in the project. The idea behind the project was to investigate similarities and differences between partner organisations and the effectiveness of the FabLab concept for adult education. We wished to investigate the value of FabLabs to local communities, as these spaces truly provide open access to lifelong learning and social and economic innovation for all citizens.
“FABLABs – new technologies in adult education” was a 34-month Strategic Partnership for Adult Education project that focused on the exchange of good practices between FabLabs and makerspaces from Finland, France, Iceland, Poland and Portugal. Six organisations have decided to apply for the project seeing that FabLabs and other creative spaces (like makerspaces and medialabs) are not adequately recognized as adult learning places, as spaces where adults can gain valuable learning experiences. Our idea was to take a closer look at various approaches to adult education represented by the FabLabs that differ from each other not only by the country, but also by the legal form, type of activities, target groups, educational and social background. With the project we wanted to address both the needs of our organisations (to provide more effective and better quality education to adults, to better recognize adults learners’ needs, to learn from partners across Europe), of our staff (to learn new teaching methods, to develop managerial skills) and of adult learners (to recognize their learning needs and to better adjust the learning offer to those needs). Finally, we wanted to address the need for more networking between various FabLabs.