For FR1 machinable PCB, MTM Kits and Fab Academy Class Kits please contact Romain di Vozzo: [Romain at fabacademyn.org] (mailto:romain@fabacademy.org) or Jean-Luc Pierite directly: jeanluc.pierite at fabfoundation.org
For the rest of the stock, please ask your Mentor/Guru.

What are Fab Academy Instructors?

The role of Instructors is to initiate, mentor and technically train new Fab Academy students. They are physically located in the Fab Labs and are the main point of contact between the students and the rest of the community.

Instructor Responsibilities

Instructor is responsible for:

Mastering and mentoring the skills taught in the class
Providing adequate availability to assist students
Participating in class preparation
Planning ahead for your lab to be ready for class topics
Timely local review and reporting on your students' progress (Local Evaluation)

Who Can Be a Fab Academy Local Instructor?

The first requirement for becoming a Fab Academy Local Instructor is to complete the Fab Academy program satisfactorily.

Year 0: Local Instructor with Mandatory Support and Supervision

Fab Academy graduates (with the recommendation of their instructor or remote Guru) are eligible to be local Fab Academy Local Instructors. For these Novice Instructors offering the course for the first time, the support of a remote Guru during is mandatory and has an impact on the costs distribution. Also referred as Novice Instructor.

Year 1+: Local Instructor

After the first year of instruction, Local Instructors need soft support from a remote Guru that will guide them through the basic processes, and the cost of the suport will not impact the local costs. Also referred as Junior Instructor.

What Are "Gurus" / Mentors?

Fab Academy graduates who have shown mastery of the broad range of HTMAA and have earned the respect of their peers through their years of service to the Academy.

Fab Academy Gurus may be Local Instructors or they may be physically located elsewhere and remote supporting Instructors and students from another lab.

Guru Responsibilities

It is the Mentor/Guru’s responsibility to work with their assigned Nodes, supporting novice Instructors and their students, (through both email and video conferencing), monitoring and tracking their progress and attendance, making sure they have access to everything needed to make the course possible (equipment and supplies) and monitoring the local evaluation.

While a Guru’s primary role is to keep a lab accountable, Gurus are also cheerleaders, and at all times should provide moral support and motivation to struggling or overwhelmed students.

Distinctions Between Gurus and Local Instructors

As the network grows we have found it necessary to further distinguish between those with experience teaching Fab Academy and those who are just starting out.

A Guru or Mentor is a senior instructor. Gurus have 3 or more years of Academy teaching experience, making them qualified to take on students without direct supervision. But it is not only a matter of time, Mentors / Gurus have also the recognition of their peers as such and they are active members of the Fab Academy Community.

Instruction and Guru-ing

Instructing Fab Academy is more of an art than a science. Like each student, Instructors and Gurus have very different backgrounds and each has their own style, interests and "experiential wisdom" to transmit to students.

There is no "single right way" to instruct - student’s skills, software choices and project aspirations will all be very different. Instructor/Guru’s duty is to mentor students on the Fab Academy Path, imparting wisdom that will help them successfully complete the course.

"I Don’t Know, but I’ll Find Out" is an Acceptable Answer!

Instructors and Gurus teach "How to Make Almost Anything". It’s a team effort, no one knows every facet of every area. They often work as a team, using other instructors as resources.

Current Active Fab Academy Gurus and Mentors

Bas Withagen
Luciano Betoldi
- Furniture Design - Complex Joints
- Molding and Casting
- Composites
- CAD Design
- CNC Machining
Nuria Robles
Francisco Sanchez
- Antimony
- .cad file format
- Assembly
- attiny’s
Ted Hung
Fiore Basile
- Fab Modules
- Gitlab
- Italian Pizza and Pasta
Ohad Meyuhas
Blair Evans
Beno Juarez
- Final Project suggestions
Victor Freundt
Aldo Sollazzo
- Computational design
- Grasshopper
- Python
Enrico Bassi
- CAD
- Design review
- Final projects suggestion
- Fiber Laser cutting for PCBs
- Milling
- Molding and casting
- Composite
Wendy Neale
Santiago Fuentemilla
Luis Carvao
Masato Takemura
Covadonga Lorenzo
Roberto Delgado
Isaac Robles
Daniele Ingrassia
- Satcha Boards Family
- MTM Laser Duo
Jason Wang
Saverio Silli
Romain Di Vozzo

And many others...