KOCHI:The state-of-the-art Fab Lab at Startup Village in Kochi, the second in the state after Technopark-TBI in Thiruvananthapuram, opened on Tuesday.
The founder of the concept of Fab Labs and Director of MIT Centre of Bits and Atoms Neil Gershenfeld was present at the event.
The Fab Lab will be operational in a few days’ time. Students and entrepreneurs gathered at Startup Village to witness the event.
“With the large number of engineering students in and around Startup Village, the Fab Lab here will be of great help to the state. More and more startups in the hardware sector can take wings from this lab,” said Gershenfeld. He later interacted with startups at the village.
Initially, training will be given by MIT to people in Startup Village to operate the Fab Lab. Fab Labs (Fabrication Laboratories) are facilities where people with minimal training can design and manufacture any product using advanced manufacturing machines linked to a computer.
“For eighth standard students in Kerala, Raspberry Pis will be given, engineering students can make use of Fab Labs and once a startup company is born, those entrepreneurs can go to Silicon Valley, and the trip will be funded by the government. Kerala is fast progressing from a theory-based learning to a practical-oriented one. Fab Labs will encourage the creation of hardware-based startups in the state,” said Sanjay Vijayakumar, Chairman, Startup Village. Startup Village CEO Pranav Kumar Suresh was also present.
