After an initial partnership in 2019, KIMYA is renewing its commitment to Universcience for 2023 by donating over 1,000 spools of filaments from its own R&D to the Fab Lab project at the school.
Developed by Universcience and launched in 2018 with the support of the Ministry of Culture in the Île-de-France region, Fab Lab à l'école is an original artistic and cultural education program that promotes the use of digital fabrication among the very young. After initial development in the Île-de-France region, followed by the Grand Est, Occitanie and Normandy in 2019 and 2020, the scheme, which has been acclaimed by teachers and students alike, will confirm its success in 2023 by rolling out across the regions. The agreement signed in 2022 between Universcience and Réseau Canopé has enabled the system to be strengthened and extended, with coverage increasing from 40 schools equipped in 4 regions to almost 200 schools in 14 regions, with the aim of covering the whole of France and overseas France with around 250 schools in all 18 regions by 2023-2024.
"Fab Lab à l'école is an unprecedented creative space for learning about digital technology, coding, manipulating tools and creating new manual activities... giving girls and boys the same keys to success, and fostering their sense of responsibility and autonomy. Pupils mobilize the knowledge they have acquired in the curriculum, while developing their creativity," comments Anne-Laure Mayer, Fab Lab project manager at Universcience.
After an initial partnership in 2019, KIMYA is renewing its commitment to Universcience for 2023 by donating over 1,000 spools of PLA filaments from its own R&D to the Fab Lab à l'école project. Made from bio-sourced materials, these filaments are particularly easy to print. These are made available to partner schools with mini Fab Labs, in addition to machinery (3D printer, scroll saw, vinyl cutter, sewing machine, microcontroller boards, milling and engraving machine), teaching resources (collection of video tutorials, teaching sheets, etc.), a training course for teachers and a platform for sharing and exchanging ideas.
"Convinced that today's young generation will be tomorrow's industry professionals, KIMYA is committed to promoting industrial culture among the general public, and particularly among the very young. We are delighted to make our filaments available to teachers and their students, enabling them to experiment with and familiarize themselves with 3D printing" comments Benoît Stoeux, Managing Director of KIMYA.
