Paris (F), July 2018 - Université Paris-Saclay has launched a new diploma programme designed specifically to teach students about digital manufacturing. The "Fablab Manager" programme will be part of the international FabFoundation network and a local ecosystem and has been designed to build creativity and innovative practices into existing businesses and start-ups.
The diploma will start by welcoming six students from the beginning of the next academic year and aims to grow to twenty students in subsequent sessions.
Students will be selected after submitting applications and taking part in a series of interviews.
The programme, lasting one year, will consist of 240 hours of courses, seminars, conferences, and practical work validated by examinations and continuous monitoring. It includes a four-month internship, upon which students will be required to report and subsequently defend.
Université Paris-Saclay designed the FabLab Manager programme to meet the growing needs of international companies that require employees who know how to combine a creative approach with deep technical knowledge.
The diploma, the first of its kind in France, follows the model created by Neil Gershenfeld, a professor at MIT in the late 1990s. The Fablab concept is based on the principles of openness and collaboration, where spaces are dedicated to design, digital fabrication, and prototyping, as well as "learning by doing".
It will be supervised by Michel Beaudouin Lafon, Professor at Paris-Sud University, and Romain Di Vozzo, Fablabs Project Manager at Paris-Saclay University / Fablab Digiscope and sole representative in France of the MIT FabAcademy.
The Université Paris-Saclay institutions involved in this program are Paris-Sud University, ENS Paris-Saclay, Versailles Saint Quentin University in Yvelines, and the Fab Foundation.
