Imagine sketching your innovative idea on a napkin, and then shaping it into a prototype in just a few hours! That dream became a reality last week at the Fox Valley Technical College in my community of Appleton, Wisconsin, where the new “FAB Lab” was introduced to the public. I am proud to partner with FVTC to champion this amazing resource, and to see how all of the planning has come to fruition for this innovative workshop of the future.

FAB Lab is short for Fabrication laboratory, a state-of-the-art facility where engineers, product developers, marketing designers and everyday innovators like you and me can make ideas into a reality.  It is a conduit connected to a Global Innovation Network of FAB Lab locations, so that innovators can share processes, workflows and ideas to make better products. This is only the second FAB Lab in the country, after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) facility. The FAB Lab at FVTC is the first to focus on entrepreneurs and developing businesses. The facility provides local expertise, global consultation and tabletop technology to create rapid, proof-of-concept prototyping.

Check out the FVTC Web site for more information, and take a look at how one business found success by utilizing the FAB Lab by clicking here.

With the introduction of this facility, there are now 20 FAB Labs across the world in places like Cornell College, University of Southern California, India Institute of Technology, the CSIR of South Africa, the government of Norway and a network of community laboratories spanning eight countries!

As a long-time champion of innovation, I can tell you a few characteristics of those who will leverage the FAB Lab to spark new ideas, create new products and services and change people’s lives. These are people who are truly innovative. They are intuitive, fearless, willing to try and fail, and most of all, they are life-long learners. The FAB Lab has so much to offer innovators who want to shape their idea into a prototype, with the help of industry experts who will team up with us to teach and mentor them. The facility will offers unique ways to connect people and their ideas into a global community of innovators who make almost anything to build a better world.