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“FabLab Liepāja” has opened a computer-aided design co-creation space

Along with the end of the Digital Production Academy, the computer-aided design co-creation space of the Liepaja Municipal Education Department Science and Education Innovation Center (ZIIC) “FabLab Liepāja” was opened on April 26, the creation of which involved 13 young people from Liepāja and Grobiņa. The Digital Production Academy took place from February 19 till April 26. During the academy specially designed furniture – tables and chairs – were developed for the new computer-aided design co-creation space.

The Digital Production Academy was established to give 15 to 18 year-olds the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the basic principles of design thinking, the possibilities of digital production, improve their knowledge in the design of interior items, and participate in the creation of a computer-based design co-creation space at Ukstiņa street 17/23. Each participant contributed so that the created co-creation space could have tables and chairs with a special design created by the young people themselves.

As part of the program, several educational classes were held, such as a design thinking workshop, a 2D and 3D design creation master class, and an interior design class led by Edīte Bernatoviča. The lessons were followed by practical work in developing designs and preparing tables and chairs so that they could be placed in the new co-creation space.

All participants of the Digital Production Academy worked selflessly with great enthusiasm during the 10 weeks and appreciated what they learned. Program participant Heidija Siņicina says: “Very interesting program that gave me many opportunities to work with various equipment that I don’t deal with on a daily basis. I had a nice time surrounded by nice and helpful co-workers. In the program, I could use my fantasy and imagination in a fun and interesting way.” Roberts Prieduls, a participant of the program, also appreciates what he gained from this experience: “The program gave me a lot of new knowledge, for example, how to handle equipment that I didn’t know before. Participating in the Digital Production Academy gave me the opportunity to create furniture of my own design that will be used in the classroom, which is really impressive!” As Sandis Knēve, also one of the participants of the program, points out, the supervisors of the program played a special role: “Very accommodating supervisors, always give me an idea or helped me to understand how to work with some of the equipment. A program where I got the opportunity to experience and learn a lot of new things.”

ZIIC experts also evaluate the performance and achievements of young people. As the expert in educational technologies and digital production Sebastians Štals-Aploks admits: “I had the honor of working with such determined young people who strengthened their character and worked on self-improvement, broke stereotypes and their habits and their ignorance in order to achieve a collective result. After school, each participant came to “FabLab Liepāja” to strengthen their abilities and knowledge in digital production. Everyone was able to challenge topics such as job execution planning, type production, production process optimization, quality control, assembly, woodworking, production equipment programming, installation, operation, style and design development, ergonomics, 3D modeling, 2D modeling and many, many more other topics that prepared young people as future specialists. The participants quickly realized their weaknesses and strengths, after which they themselves divided their roles into teams. Latvian defiance and the virtue of work are the qualities that would define the work dynamics of young people. I am proud of our young generation, which is our future.” Linda Šulce, an expert in educational technologies and digital production, also welcomes what has been done: “Although the main goal of this program was the acquisition of digital production skills, it was also a great opportunity for young people to improve skills such as time planning, communication skills and problem solving. The whole process started with idea generation, design development and continued with production. The chairs and tables were manufactured using a large-format CNC milling machine and laser cutter, while post-processing and assembly was done by hand. It was interesting to see how many different young people participated in this program – one can sit and work on a design for hours, the other feels like a fish in water right at the grinder. This diversity is what makes the strongest teams. Creating furniture for a co-working space in ten weeks is a really huge undertaking. I am proud of these young people!”

The implementation, creation and purchase of materials for Digital Production Academy and computer-aided design co-creation space is financed within the framework of the “Development of Innovation Center in the City of Liepaja” project of the European Economic Area and Norwegian grant program “Research and Education”. The total cost of this project is EUR ir 1 025 341,78  of which EUR 784 386,37 is co-financing from Norwegian grants, EUR 138 421,13 is co-financing from the Latvian state budget, and EUR 102 534,28 is co-financing from the municipality of Liepaja.