Samenvatting

The third industrial revolution, triggered by Internet communication and renewable energies, can be experienced in so-called FabLabs that empower users to ‘make almost anything’. Although this does not change the need for designers to have making and prototyping skills, there is no doubt the revolution impacts the design profession in terms of skills required and design methodologies and practices. So, what does this mean for design education? In the current work, we elaborate upon the role FabLabs can play in design education. We developed an elective course and reflect upon the lessons learned in this particular course, but also how the peer learning enhanced a lab community. Interestingly, the FabLab became an interface to the city, a creative hotspot open to practicing, making, co-creation and participatory design skills.