Kochi: Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) will establish 50 fabrication laboratories (fablabs) at various technical colleges in the State as part of its efforts to impart training to students in designing and manufacturing of products using advanced manufacturing machines. KSUM chief executive officer Dr C. Jayasankar Prasad said 20 such laboratories will start functioning by the end of February. Work order for another 30 fablabs have been given and the installation works will start soon, he said, inaugurating the second leg of the third edition of the FabLab Asia Network conference (FAN3) at Mattancherry on Tuesday.
KSUM has earmarked Rs 10 crore for the project which will be a fabricating platform enabling students to develop their ideas in the lab. The training for teachers at the colleges have been completed and once the installation is completed, students can utilise the facility, he said. Riyas Komu, co-founder, Kochi Muziris Biennale (KMB) said that Biennale helped create awareness for contemporary arts. Innovations and technology are being used at KMB, which is in great demand now, he said. “People are very curious to know about art,” Komu said. “We feel that there is a need for a bond between art and technology. Kochi can give a great amount of success where art and technology meets.” Ted Hung, director, Fablab, Taipei, made a presentation of Fablab Asia Foundation, a network of 81 fablabs in Asia Pacific region.
