V1.0
Below are a general set of guidelines for the FabLab curriculum. As we are still in the early stages of developing it, we greatly welcome your input and feedback. If you have any questions, corrections or feedback reach out to Graham (gbooth) or Carina (cestevez).
There are currently two ‘rings’ of projects planned, with the first being individual projects and the second being group projects. After the second ring you should have enough skills to realise your own creative projects and we encourage you to attempt whatever interests you and feed it back into the curriculum!
As soon as you have completed onboarding you can attempt any of the projects in the first ring. There are currently six projects available - which correspond with the topics we offer in Open Sessions - and you must complete at least three of these projects in order to progress to the second ring.
The first-ring projects are considered 'basic training' and are designed to equip you with the skills and confidence to complete larger interdisciplinary projects. For this reason projects in the first ring must be completed individually. You may work in groups to share ideas and knowledge but each project submission must be entirely your own work.
For each successfully completed project you will receive an achievement badge on Intra. Outstanding projects that are easily reproducible (e.g. laser cutter and 3D printer projects) will be considered for 'mass production' and sale in the 42 online shop. If this happens, you will receive a special project-related title on Intra.
Projects in the second ring may be completed in teams of up to three people and combine multiple disciplines from the first ring. Second ring projects also have certain prerequisites. For example if you choose a SynthLab project which requires you to build a microcontroller circuit in a laser cut case, members of your team must have completed the Laser Cutter, Soldering and Microcontrollers projects in the first ring.
NOTE: Second ring projects are currently only at the planning stage and we welcome suggestion for more! See self-leveling platform as one example. If you want to open-source your project as a challenge to others, get in touch!
Documenting your project on the submissions page is mandatory and will be referred to during your evaluation. See the page itself for full details, but you should at least include photos/video of the finished project and any other files required in the subject (code, sketches, schematics etc). You are welcome to use the camera and video equipment we have in the lab to do this (ask an admin).
Assessment of projects takes place on regular showcase days, where we come together to celebrate what has been built in the lab. On these days, all completed projects will be set out alongside each other and presented for peer evaluation.
Evaluations are completed online from this page. Curriculum projects require a minimum of three evaluations and all evaluators must verify that you pass the mandatory criteria. Bonus points will be taken as an average of all completed evaluations. In addition, prizes such as 42 merchandise (or their equivalent in Alterian dollars) will be awarded for the most creative and most well-engineered projects.
Besides curriculum projects, on showcase days we welcome any and all projects that have been created in the lab, including prototypes and works in progress. All can be evaluated using the Google Form and are eligible for prizes, so this is a great opportunity to get feedback on (and extra motivation for!) any project.