Kickstarting the fab lab ecosystem in Serbia: SciFabLab and FABelgrade conference

Fab labs (fabrication laboratories) and makerspaces are still only starting to form in Serbia. There is only one fully functional fab lab operating in Serbia that is also registered at Fab Foundation — Polyhedra fab lab, while there are three more in formation, namely Fab lab Petnica, Fab lab Belgrade intended to be at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade and SciFabLab at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FME), Univ. of Belgrade. The paper describes the formation of the SciFabLab at FME and presents details on organization, program and participants of FABelgrade2016 — first regional conference on digital fabrication and fab labs that was organized by the authors and the team, in May 2016: www.fabelgrade.io. The paper also depicts how different players in Serbia and the region are connecting to form the first fab lab/makerspace ecosystem in Serbia and the region.