Crown Prince Foundation, MIT to establish high-tech lab in Amman

AMMAN — The Crown Prince Foundation (CPF) on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Fab Foundation, affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to establish and operate a digital manufacturing laboratory in Amman (Fab Lab Amman), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The agreement, signed between CPF’s CEO Omar Masarweh and Fab Foundation President Sherry Lassiter, provides a framework under which the Fab Foundation will provide the necessary tools to establish the lab in Amman. It also lays out a plan of operation for the next three years. 

The Fab Lab Amman's idea lies in providing a practical educational facility available for everyone to work on turning innovative ideas into implementable projects. Each participant will be supervised by a cadre adopted by the Fab Foundation. 

Fab Lab Amman will provide advanced technological tools including 3D printers, laser cutters and computer numerical control tools, making it an advanced platform for the manufacturing and production of inventions' prototypes and engineering ideas at the lowest costs, as a first step towards  attaining patents. 

The term "digital manufacturing lab" is one of the modern concepts launched by Fab Foundation in 2005 to help developing societies create materials they cannot import.

Masarweh said that the CPF works to implement HRH Crown Prince Hussein's directives through partnerships and initiatives to support young people. 

The Fab Foundation was formed in 2009 to facilitate and support the growth of the international Fab Lab network, as well as the development of regional capacity-building organisations, according to its website. The foundation is a US non-profit organisation that emerged from MIT’s Centre for Bits and Atoms Fab Lab Programme.