GarageLab
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
GarageLab is a project aimed at the most vulnerable groups within the education system. The main objective of the program is to increase the opportunities for young people at risk of social exclusion to enhance their skills and increase their motivation to learn. To this end, the selected centers are offered the transformation of a classroom into this, they are equipped with digital manufacturing material and teachers and students are trained in digital technologies and educational methodologies
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
Every year, Fundación Orange launches a call for applications in which it will provide any center in Spain that works in training courses leading to official or academic accreditation and is motivated to make a methodological change in the way these courses are taught, with sufficient resources to implement the GarageLab project.
The selected entities receive an economic endowment so that the centers can transform the space or classroom destined for the GarageLab and purchase digital equipment and materials related to digital manufacturing (3D printer, laser cutter, vinyl cutter, electronic equipment...).
Teachers and students receive specialized training in innovation and digital manufacturing and educational methodologies through the Orange Foundation's free online training platform.
The project started in 2016, and along the way, more than 1,500 students from twenty-one schools throughout Spain have worked on the development of projects in which, based on the maker philosophy, and through project-based learning, not only has learning been more significant, but the school dropout rate has been reduced by more than 13% and the students' motivation for learning has increased by more than 62%.
Key objectives for sustainability
The main objective of the GarageLab Project is to give an opportunity to students who would otherwise have dropped out of school, through quality, hands-on education. As a functioning educational initiative, it is sustainable over time, as the classrooms are well maintained and the machinery is of high quality and durable, requiring minimal maintenance. Learning these tools will allow them in the future to create products with sustainable materials as is already being done today, as 3D printers are used to create medical prostheses, houses; and during this pandemic, the GarageLabs have created protective equipment to distribute in hospitals.
The objective is achieved year after year, as the number of applications for a GarageLab is growing, the students who benefit from it have completed their studies and recommend and appreciate the existence of this project, so the dropout rate has been greatly reduced, and will continue to be so in the future, as year after year new students from new courses join the project when their classmates graduate and enter the world of work.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
In terms of aesthetics, all GarageLab classrooms are fitted out and refurbished by the centre, involving the students in the refurbishment, so that they can develop their creative instinct if they want to add aesthetic elements to them.
All the classrooms follow a common design, but adapted to each classroom on the advice of an architectural studio, to optimize the design of the same, seeking not only aesthetics but also the optimization of space and its functionality, so that students feel comfortable and can work without discomfort.
We opted for a multifunctional design in which students can receive theory classes at tables and which, at the same time, can be modified in their location when they need to carry out practical activities in which more space is required.
Key objectives for inclusion
GarageLab was born as a social inclusion project for the most disadvantaged groups in society, as these are the ones who usually have a higher dropout rate in their studies. In the first calls for applications, the beneficiary group was the Second Chance School Network and Basic Vocational Training centers. Currently, any center nationwide that works in training courses leading to an official or academic accreditation and is motivated to make a methodological change in the way these courses are taught can apply for it.
Results in relation to category
Among the results of the program, the main highlight is the great reduction in the school dropout rate in the centers that have the GarageLabs (currently more than 13%), reaching more than 1,500 students in the 21 centers. With this program, this gap is greatly reduced, having a positive impact on students in the centers that are motivated and on other centers and students who do not yet have one, who want to implement this program or are looking for centers that have one in order to be trained in this area.
The most positive impact are the testimonies of the students themselves who tell us that thanks to this program they have taken up their studies again or that they have not dropped out because they joined the program, together with cases of former students who have obtained specialized jobs thanks to the program, which makes them feel very proud.
How Citizens benefit
All the centers, teachers and students of the center have been fully committed to the project, have shown their desire to implement a GarageLab in their entity and have defined a teaching team that works on it from start to finish.
A GarageLab Community has been created, in which the organizations share their success stories with the other members and the more veteran centers help the new ones to resolve their doubts and guide them in their new venture.
Each year, more and more organizations encourage neighboring centers in their territory to apply for the next call based on their results and good experiences.
Innovative character
The activity is part of the Solidarity Fablabs program developed by the Orange Foundation internationally with the aim of bringing innovation to young people, developing and improving their digital and social skills, increasing knowledge and collaborative work, motivation and interest in continuing to learn as skills to promote their active social inclusion and improve their employability.
The most innovative aspect of the Project is the Project itself, as there are hardly any other centers with a similar program. It envisages the total transformation of the educational process, starting with the classrooms themselves, which are developed and equipped with creative digital manufacturing technologies and tools. This is complemented by a methodology that transforms the educational process and promotes different and meaningful teaching and learning, ultimately seeking the personal growth of the students.
With this project, digital meets the personal growth of each individual, improving their skills and knowledge.
Increasingly, digital is gaining more and more strength in today's society and proof of this is the situation we have found ourselves in since March 2020.
The use of laser cutters and 3D printers is something uncommon, and although it is gaining strength in companies that use it to create products. With this program, young people are given training in something that is the future, developing their skills so that in the future they can create better designs.
