Fab Academy 2019

How to make almost anything

Welcome to my Fab Academy homepage, which documents my experiences and improvements during these six months. The Fab Academy is a fast, hands-on learning experience where students learn rapid prototyping by planning and executing a new project every week, resulting in a personal portfolio of technical accomplishments. The Fab Academy takes place in more than 70 Fab Labs worldwide, for more than 250 students per year on the world’s largest campus. The Fab Academy program is part of the Academany, the Academy of Almost Anything. The Fab Academy was initiated by a lecture given by Neil Gershenfeld in 1998 with the title “How to make (almost) anything” at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Even today, he personally supervises all students of the Fab Academy in online lectures.

I got the opportunity to participate in the Fab Academy at the FabLab HRW (Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences) in Bottrop. I hope you will find inspiration on my website and will be able to experience my ups and downs. Besides, I would like to show you how exciting the concept of the Fab Academy is and how much is possible to create with small resources and tools nowadays. For me personally, the Fab Academy means that I get the opportunity to develop my skills. This compact, intensive and practical orientated learning course fits perfect to achieve my personal goals.

About me

picture of me

My name is Patrick Jaruschowitz, I am from Germany (Bochum) and I work as a research associate at the Fraunhofer Institute for environmental, safety and energy technology UMSICHT in Oberhausen. I'm doing my Ph.D. about 3D printing, there I investigate the influence on value creation. Previously I studied mechanical engineering with a specializing in micro engineering at the Ruhr University in Bochum. I am also part of the FabLab DEZENTRALE in Dortmund. I do the Fab Academy in addition to my full-time job and see it as a perfect further education. Here I see a lot of potential for me in further education in the field of electrical engineering and manufacturing.

Special thanks to

First of all I would like to thank my good friend Jörg. Without his continuous motivation, his enthusiasm for the most nerdy things but also his knowledge in the field of electronics, everything would have been much more difficult for me.

A heartfelt thanks also goes to the following persons: My instructors Florian, Lukas and Tobias, my colleagues from the DEZENTRALE Benedikt and Ilhan, who have always supported me. I would also like to thank Michael, who made it possible for me to participate in the Fab Academy at all! And Jürgen, who first brought me to the idea of participating in the Fab Academy.

Last but not least: My dear Lilian and my parents - A big thank you for all your support and understanding during this time.