The programme
Fab Academy is an international distributed educational programme launched in 2009 by Neil Gershenfeld and the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms, based on the MIT course How to Make (Almost) Anything. The structure is hybrid physical-digital: weekly global classes via video conference from MIT, hands-on work in a local Fab Lab with a mentor.
Duration is roughly 5 months (January to June), 19-20 weekly modules, at the end of which participants earn the Fab Diploma after defending an original final project.
Typical modules
The curriculum covers all digital fabrication areas:
- Project management and documentation (Git, markdown)
- Computer-aided design (CAD)
- Computer-controlled cutting (laser, vinyl)
- Electronics production — PCB milling, SMD soldering
- 3D scanning and 3D printing
- Electronics design — KiCad, datasheet reading
- Computer-controlled machining — large-format CNC
- Embedded programming — microcontrollers, C, AVR/SAMD
- Mechanical design — assembly, kinematics
- Machine design — building machines from scratch
- Input/output devices — sensors, actuators
- Molding and casting
- Networking and communications — Wi-Fi, BLE, low-level protocols
- Interface and application programming
- Wildcard week — elective theme
- Applications and implications
- Invention, intellectual property, and income
- Project development
- Project presentation
Pedagogy
Fab Academy applies the learning by making principle: each week the student produces a concrete physical artifact, publicly documented on a personal site (typically Git Pages) with photos/videos/code/CAD files, shared as a resource for the community. The combined documentation is one of the richest peer-to-peer tutorial archives on fabrication in the world.
Certification and recognition
The Fab Diploma is not a traditional academic degree but is recognised by many universities as professional credential, and integrated into degree and master’s programmes in some institutions (Politecnico di Torino, Politecnico di Milano, TU Berlin, Universidad de los Andes).
In 2019 the Bachelor of Science in Fab is also launched — an international 3-year degree distributed across partner Fab Labs (Arts et Métiers Paris, Universidad Panamericana Mexico, etc.).
In the Italian context
Italian Fab Labs hosting Fab Academy include Fablab Torino, Opendot (Milan), Fablab Reggio Emilia, Casa Jasmina (Turin), Fablab Roma Makers. Italian students have regularly earned the Fab Diploma from 2013 onward, with projects ranging from cultural heritage preservation (3D scanners for archaeology, Vatican Museums) to accessible medical devices (3D-printed prosthetics for children).
References: Fab Academy (MIT CBA, Fab Foundation, 2009). 5 months, 19-20 modules. Fab Diploma. Bachelor of Science in Fab (2019). 250+ Fab Labs hosting the programme worldwide. Curriculum on fabacademy.org.