Exchange of experiences with Cuban experts on innovation laboratories

The project for the exchange of experiences for the promotion of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency in Cuba has mobilised three professors from the Central University of Las Villas (UCLV) in Cuba to visit different FabLabs in Spain and Germany, in order to establish contact and identify the key aspects for their creation in Cuba.

The UCLV in Cuba is in the process of creating a FabLab, a research and innovation laboratory, focused on digital and prototype manufacturing, and a space for the promotion of start-ups and technological development. For this reason, three UCLV professors have visited FabLabs in León, A Coruña and Barcelona in Spain and Berlin and Magdeburg in Germany, gathering knowledge and familiarising themselves with the latest technologies developed.

This FabLab aims to promote innovation and support initiatives from Cuban universities to encourage innovation in the business sector. It will also contribute to the development and promotion of innovative technologies for the promotion of renewable energies and energy efficiency in Cuba. It will also function as an incubator for MSMEs and start-ups, a growing objective in Cuba, supporting the development of other forms of boosting the economy at the local level.

Since the creation of the first European FabLab in 2007, similar initiatives have emerged globally, reaching a network of around 1800 FabLabs around the world. These exchanges will also allow the incorporation of the UCLV FabLab into the worldwide FabLab Network, strengthening relations with other institutions in the long term, which will be particularly useful for launching and developing its own FabLab.