THE COMENIUS UNIVERSITY SCIENCE PARK CELEBRATES TWO YEARS OF FABLAB
On Thursday 3 November 2016, Comenius University’s Science Park in Bratislava celebrated the second anniversary of the establishment of the Fablab creative studio.
Fablab is a combined initiative by the Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information, the Institut Français in Slovakia, Bratislava City Hall, and the Faculty of Informatics and Information Technologies at the Slovak University of Technology. It was the first studio of its kind in Slovakia. "We are glad that in our efforts we have inspired, and in some cases directly supported, the establishment of similar initiatives, of which there are now quite a few. As examples, let me mention the Creative Point National Business Centre and the Orange Foundation Lab," said Professor Ján Turňa, the Director of the Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information and of the Comenius University Science Park.
Fablab has been located at the Science Park since January 2016. Currently it has a comprehensive portfolio of the most modern digital manufacturing technology which is of an international standard. Fablab is also active in international networks and initiatives. "One specific example of a successful international partnership is the FabLabNet project, where we are in a consortium of Fablabs from the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Poland, and Croatia. The project was implemented in July of this year and will last through to 2019 as a part of the Interreg Central Europe programme. Partnerships have also been successfully entered into and are being further developed with a number of entities and initiatives in Slovakia, including Robotika.sk, the Slovak Society of Electronics, AjTy v IT, and the Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union," said Professor Turňa.
The benefits of the project were also praised by Comenius University Rector, Professor Karol Mičieta: "In fewer than three years Bratislava will celebrate 100 years as a capital city, and Comenius University will likewise celebrate the centenary of its own establishment. I am confident that the creation of an exclusive space for the intensification of cooperation in the area of science and research will be a joint contribution to celebrations as we reach this milestone."