Annoucement from Yogesh Kulkarni of Vigyan Ashram
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FAB5: The Fifth International Fab Lab Forum and Symposium on Digital Fabrication


FAB5 India is upon us! It’s going to be quite an adventure!


WHO

This series of events is a collaborative effort of the following partners:
College of Engineering, Pune (http://www.coep.org.in/)
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (http://www.iitk.ac.in/)
Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, New Delhi (http://www.nsit.ac.in/)
Symbiosis International University (http://www.symbiosis.ac.in/ )
Vigyan Ashram (http://www.vigyanashram.com/)
India's National Innovation Foundation (http://www.nif.org.in/)
Fab Foundation (http://fabfoundation.org)
MIT-India Program, (http://web.mit.edu/misti/mit-india/)
MIT’s Center for Bits & Atoms (http://cba.mit.edu)

Attending the Forum and Symposium are members of the Fab Lab community, academics, corporations and non-profit organizations interested in and concerned with digital fabrication and the fab lab movement. Registration is required. Please see attached registration form.


WHAT

A draft agenda of the Forum and Symposium:
http://cba.mit.edu/events/09.08.FAB5/


WHEN

The dates:
August 16 to 21, 2009
(Plan to arrive no later than August 16 and leave August 22, the opening event/dinner will be held Sunday evening, August 16.)


WHERE

The events will be held at:
College of Engineering, Pune (COEP)
Symbiosis International University, Pune
Vigyan Ashram, Pabal

Suggested route:

In general for our international travelers we feel it’s best to fly into Mumbai and take a car service from there to Pune (about a 3 hour drive.) Pune does have an international airport, but it doesn’t yet have many direct flights from overseas and you might find yourself waiting in Mumbai or New Delhi a long time for a connection. We can arrange for transportation from the airport, or make dependable suggestions for ground transport.

Ground transport to and from the airport:

There is an on-demand transport service called Sandy's limousine service (be sure that it isn’t providing a limo): Contact Sandy's +91-20-2447 1464 or KK's +91-20-2422 4267, 2422 5510, 2422 5520. Also visit http://kktravels.com/index.asp This is a direct bus service available from Mumbai international Airport ( K. K Travel) which will drop at your residence address in Pune. It is cheapest mode of transport costing ~ INR 600 ($15 US) . They are available at 1 hr frequency. If we inform them in advance they can receive guest with name board sign at the airport. (So please indicate that you want us to arrange this for you on the Registration Form.)


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REGISTRATION:

You must register for the event with us so that we can be sure that:
• there is space for you
• if you are coming from overseas you receive an invitation from COEP to facilitate obtaining your visa
• you have an air ticket
• you have accommodations
• you have ground transportation to and from the airport, and/or to and from the hotels to the events.
Please complete the attached form as soon as possible (and no later than August 1) and return to fab5@fabfoundation.org

Financial Assistance:

For those of you who work in fab labs or occupy a community role in fab labs and require funding assistance, please send us a request in writing for support outlining your need and your relationship to the fab lab. (You can do this on the Registration Form) Even if you have already spoken to us and worked things out, we need this in writing! So complete the form regardless.) Generally we are requiring that each fab lab participant come up with $1000 in funds for this event to help cover airfare, room, board and ground transportation. We estimate that the actual cost per participant is about $2500 to $3500 (airfare is the largest expense by far). We are hoping to see two members from each fab lab community come to the meeting. Funding is first come, first served, and evaluated based on need.


Visa requirements:

We are sending international registrants a formal letter of Invitation from COEP. You should expect to see those in your email the week of July 6. These will be for the purpose of obtaining a business visa. However, many of you will not require a business visa—you can do this on a tourist visa. Tourist visas will be cheaper, and probably faster to acquire. So consult your nearest embassy, consulate or visa service to figure out which will work best for you.
http://www.eindiavisa.com/indian-embassy/index.html


Lass uses a very good, fast, dependable visa service. Try it if you are in doubt. They also give good, clear, general information about what you need to apply and you can download the application form as well:
http://www.us.cibt.com/


Health Travel Advisory:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US suggestions…
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/india.aspx



Accommodations in Pune:

Currently we have made arrangements with two hotels/guest houses in Pune accommodate workshop/Forum attendees. More hotels will be negotiated, but for the moment, these are the accommodations:
http://www.smartinn.co.in/locations.html

Yashada Guest House (this is a university affiliated facility and bookings can only be made through our hosts)
Raj Bhavan Complex
Baner Road, near Sakal Nagar
Pune 411007

It would be best if fab lab members would let us book the rooms for you to avoid confusion. Just provide us the date of arrival and departure on the Registration Form, and we can do the rest.

There are other hotels to be found online, such as:
http://www.pridehotel.com/
but we encourage you to stay with the rest of us as transportation and food will be provided with these two accommodations in mind.



Suggested route:

In general we feel it’s best to fly into Mumbai and take a car service from there to Pune (about 3 hour drive.) Pune does have an international airport, but it doesn’t yet have many direct flights and you might find yourself waiting in Mumbai or New Delhi a long time for a connection. We can arrange for transportation from the airport, or make dependable suggestions for ground transport.


Weather:

This is the end of monsoon season, so it is hot and humid in India. (0 °C to 28 °C or 50 °F to 82 °F). Please bring light clothing. Long sleeves and long pants are in order during evening hours to help prevent mosquito bites and the transmission of malaria. Also, it can be cool at night so bring a light sweater. Be sure to bring extra antibiotics for whatever ails you

Note from Dhananjay: Regarding Monsoon rains, this year its predicted to be much lower than normal, but its better to be safe than sorry and I would advise having an umbrella.

General Info on Pune:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pune
Latitude: 18° 34' North
Longitude: 73° 58' East

Dress code: Pune is by far the most accommodating and liberal city in India. So there are no dress code issues. However, scantily clad persons, especially outside of the city, may be a distraction and therefore discretion is advised.


Digital Fabrication Exhibition:

There will be an Exhibition of Fab Lab inventions, research and future projects during the Symposium. Please plan to bring your demonstrations with you. There will be a big fab lab set up at COEP, but access to the tools will be limited by demand…so try to bring as much as you can already working and don’t depend on making everything at the last minute in India. The exhibition will be organized by the Barcelona fab lab.


FAB5 Contest:

Any ideas?

Dhananjay suggests: Anything that is pleasing to look at or makes sounds or lights? How about an LED contest? How about the furniture contest from FAB4 enhanced with LEDs?



Did we miss anything? Let us know! Fab5@fabfoundation.org



REGISTRATION FORM

FAB5: The Fifth International Fab Lab Forum and Symposium on Digital Fabrication

Draft Agenda: http://cba.mit.edu/events/meetings.html

To be held at:

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, PUNE
Shivajinagar, Pune - 411 005, Maharashtra, India


YOUR NAME:

ADDRESS: (for both confirmation and as you would like to see it in the published official meeting list)


PHONE: (if you want us to publish your phone number, please let us know)

EMAIL:






I will attend the International Symposium on Digital Fabrication August 20, 2009.

(Registration Fee for attending the Symposium is $100 per participant. For Not-for-profit institutions, students, and members of the academic and Fab Lab communities this fee is waived. If you qualify for free attendance, please be sure to request financial assistance below.)


Please send us your payment in advance, or plan to give us your payment when you check in at the meeting.




I will attend the Fab Lab Forum August 16-21, 2009.

(Registration fee: $500 for non-Fab Lab members.
Registration is free for members of the Fab Lab community.
Space is limited. Forum attendance is restricted to members of the Fab Lab community and strategic partners. )


TRAVEL LOGISTICS


TO Conference

Departure Date/City:


Arrival Date/City/Flight number**:


• If traveling from overseas, we suggest you fly to Mumbai and travel to Pune by car service
• If traveling within India, we suggest you fly into Pune directly.

**For some of you in the Fab Lab network we will be making your flight arrangements, so no flight number necessary.


Do you need ground transportation from the Airport to your hotel?


HOTEL
Do you need a hotel? If so, please let us know the dates you will need accommodation:



Any special requests?




FROM Conference

Departure Date/City/Flight Number:


Arrival Date/City:


Do you need ground transportation from the hotel in Pune to the Airport ?


FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

I require financial assistance for the following reasons. (Please also indicate the amount of financial assistance you are requesting. Limited assistance is available for travel for Fab Lab members.)







OTHER NOTES AND REQUESTS:




PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (but no later than August 1, 2009) TO: fab5@fabfoundation.org

We’ll get back to you with a confirmation. Look forward to seeing you in Pune.

Thanks!

The FAB5 Team:

College of Engineering, Pune
Vigyan Ashram
Symbiosis International University
Fab Foundation
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Indian Institute of Technology

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SCHEDULE


FAB5: The Fifth International Fab Lab Forum
and Symposium on Digital Fabrication

This event will gather both field practitioners and laboratory researchers for a week of hands-on workshops and a one day symposium on the principles and applications of digital fabrication. It is being hosted in Pune, India, from August 16-21, 2009, by a team including the College of Engineering, Pune, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Vigyan Ashram, the National Innovation Foundation, the Fab Foundation, the MIT-India Program, and MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. FAB5 follows earlier events in the US, South Africa, and Norway; there's background on fab labs and digital fabrication here.
The total cost of attending these events is $100 per day, with support available to assist unfunded participants. The symposium on August 20 is open to anyone interested; because space is limited in the workshops admission to them is by application. The contact for registration and logistics is fab5@fabfoundation.org.
The draft agenda is:
Sunday, August 16
17:00-20:00: Inauguration and Dinner (Symbiosis)
Monday, August 17
9:00-12:00: Morning Meeting (COEP)
Introduction and Overview
Scheduling and Logistics
Fab Lab Review: Africa, Asia, Middle East
12:00-1:30: Lunch (COEP)

13:30-15:30: Parallel Tracks (COEP)
Hands-on Tutorials: CAD, CAM
Hands-on Projects: graphics - screen printing
Programs and Operations: lab management
Research: materials and machines
15:30-17:00: Fab Foo (COEP)

18:00-20:00: Dinner (COEP)
Tuesday, August 18
9:00-10:00: Morning Meeting
Daily Review
Fab Lab Review: Europe, Scandinavia (COEP)
10:00-12:00: Parallel Tracks
Hands-on Tutorials: computer-controlled cutting (COEP)
Hands-on Projects: tools - rapid-prototyping of rapid-prototyping machines (COEP)
Programs and Operations: education (COEP)
Research: agriculature and healthcare (Vigyan Ashram)
12:00-13:30: Lunch (COEP, Vigyan Ashram)

13:30-15:30: Parallel Tracks
Hands-on Tutorials: PCB fabrication and assembly (COEP)
Hands-on Projects: programming - embedded logic kits and environments (COEP)
Programs and Operations: business (COEP)
Research: energy, climate, transportation (Vigyan Ashram)
15:30-17:00: Fab Foo (COEP)

18:00-21:00: Dinner and Cultural Evening (COEP)
Wednesday, August 19
9:00-10:00: Morning Meeting
Daily Review
Fab Lab Review: North America, Latin America, South America (COEP)
10:00-12:00: Parallel Tracks
Hands-on Tutorials: 3D molding and casting (COEP)
Hands-on Projects: communication and computation - IT infrastructure (COEP)
Programs and Operations: outreach (Vigyan Ashram)
Research: communications and computation (COEP)
12:00-13:30: Lunch (COEP, Vigyan Ashram)

13:30-15:30: Parallel Tracks
Hands-on Tutorials: embedded computing (COEP)
Hands-on Projects: construction - furniture, vehicles, houses (COEP)
Programs and Operations: sustainability (Vigyan Ashram)
Research: CAD, CAM, machine control, project management (COEP)
15:30-17:00: Fab Foo (COEP)

18:00-20:00: Dinner (COEP)
Thursday, August 20
Fifth International Fab Lab Forum and Symposium on Digital Fabrication (COEP)

9:00-10:30: Research

10:30-11:00: Break

11:00-12:30: Development

12:00-13:30: Lunch

13:30-15:00: Impact

15:00-15:30: Break

15:30-17:00: Implications

18:00-20:00: Exhibition and Open House
Friday, August 21
9:00-12:00: Fab Ecosystem (COEP)
Fab Foundation
Fab Fund
Fab Academy
Fab Charter
12:00-13:30: Lunch (COEP)

13:30-15:00: Fab Foo (COEP)

15:00-17:00: Concluding Discussion (COEP)

18:30-21:00: Closing and Dinner (Symbiosis)