Fablab Taipei promotes maker culture

2015/12/25

Fablab Taipei, the latest government initiative aimed at spurring innovative entrepreneurship in Taiwan, was launched by the Cabinet Dec. 23 at the Taiwan Air Force, the site of the former ROC Air Force headquarters, in the northern Taiwan metropolis.

“In a new global economy powered by creativity and innovation instead of cost and efficiency, the facility will integrate public and private-sector resources to foster next-generation talents to drive Taiwan’s development,” Premier Mao Chi-kuo said during the inauguration ceremony.

“Fablab Taipei will be a primary venue for promoting open learning among Taiwan’s youth and initiating exchanges between local makers and their global counterparts,” he said. The Taiwan Makers Association said Taiwan is the 80th country in the world to provide such a facility.

According to Mao, the selection of Fablab Taipei’s location is significant given that the TAF is the most important cross-sector incubator for innovative startups in the country.

As the TAF promotes arts, social innovation and technological development, “such a diversified environment will inspire original ideas and create tremendous business opportunities for Taiwan’s most brilliant minds,” the premier said.

The latest move is an extension of the Fab Truck project—a mobile lab offering hands-on 3-D printing experiences to senior high school students. The Fablab will double as the base of the truck.

Implemented by the Ministry of Education since 2014, the first such vehicle in Asia has made stops at 203 campuses nationwide, with visits scheduled for another 294.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=240617&ctNode=2194&mp=9)