FABLAB OPENING CEREMONY

Fabrication Laboratory Education (FABLAB EDU), Chemistry & Chemistry Education Study Program, FPMIPA UPI was inaugurated on Tuesday, May 14 2024. A series of events entitled A Grant from Leading University Project for International Cooperation (LUPIC), Sogang University, South Korea (In collaboration with Dies Natalis Chemistry Student Association, PT Iwaki Glass Indonesia and 3D Zaiku) attended by almost 200 participants. The inauguration event of FABLAB EDU was attended by the Chancellor of UPI, Prof. Dr. M. Solehuddin, M.Pd., MA; Director of LUPIC, Prof. Won Koo Lee from Sogang University, South Korea; Dean of FPMIPA UPI, Prof. Dr. Tatang Herman, M.Ed.; Vice Dean FPMIPA Prof. Dr. Nahadi., M.Pd., M.Si; FPMIPA Kasie; Representatives of the West Java Education Service, Representatives of the West Java Center for Activating Teachers, several heads and secretaries of Study Programs at FMNS UPI; Chemistry and non-chemistry subject teachers, students, students, and others.

FABLAB EDU is the first fabrication laboratory at a University of Education in Indonesia and is one of the implementations of UPI’s collaboration with the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) Sogang University, South Korea through the LUPIC Project.The FABLAB inauguration event was followed by several series of events, including the Fablab Workshop, Small Scale Chemistry (SSC) Workshop which was held on Tuesday, 14 May 2024, and a Seminar with the theme “Digital Technology in Education” on Wednesday, 15 May 2024 held by JICA FPMIPA UPI.

The Fablab Workshop held at Fablab Building C FPMIPA was attended by more than 20 high school teachers in Bandung. This event aims to introduce the fabrication laboratory (Fablab) at UPI, how to use Fablab equipment and relate the function of Fablab equipment to learning. Then, the Small Scale Chemistry (SSC) Workshop was held at the JICA FPMIPA UPI Building and was attended by more than 20 Teachers in Bandung. One form of LUPIC collaboration is the creation of a Small Scale Organic Chemistry tool set. This tool was introduced at the SSC Workshop and the hope is that this tool can overcome the problem of shortages and expensive laboratory facilities in schools and can minimize the generation of waste and introduce teachers to how the SSC works.

After that, the series of events was closed by a Seminar held in the Auditorium of the JICA FPMIPA UPI Building. The seminar with the theme “Digital Technology in Education” was held hybrid (online by Zoom and YouTube) and offline, attended by more than 100 participants in the Zoom room and more than 250 participants attended the JICA Auditorium. Participants who attended included teachers, students and lecturers from various universities. The seminar was attended by three (3) speakers, namely Prof. Won Koo Lee, (Director of LUPIC from Sogang University, South Korea) who presented material on “Why we Learn Chemistry” and information about GKS Scholarship; Monica C. Ratri, Ph.D. from Sanata Dharma University with the topic “Fablab: The Impact on Research and Development on Education”; and Erna Hermayanti, Laboratory Manager PT. IWAKI GLASS presented the material “Calibration”. This entire series of events was carried out to provide the latest information regarding the development of digital technology and its application in learning activities, and to improve the quality of education and facilitate the learning process in schools. The hope is that the presence of technology can be a catalyst to improve the quality of the teaching and learning process and facilitate a better education system.