CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND:The project “Fablab Schools EU: Towards Digital Smart, Entrepreneurial and Innovative Pupils” addresses a need to develop common methodological principles for educational digital fabrication visible across Europe. In many European countries, we see digital manufacturing environments and workshops (FabLab ) shoot up, but there is a need to clarify the pedagogical principles behind educational digital fabrication. Digital fabrication includes technologies such as tools for programming (e.g. 3D programming), 3D printers and laser cutters, which allows students to design and fabricate physical products. The project will promote digital fabrication as a way to the future -- enabling students to visualize their projects in an instant -- whatever their projects may be, be it a city of the future, an idea for a product, or reconstruction of history. Moreover, this strengthens their entrepreneurial spirit -- two main focus of the EU's Education 2020 strategy, and the Erasmus+ program's goals. The project will develop innovative approaches and cutting-edge ICT-based methodologies to motivate students to learn more and to prepare them for the labor market of the future. Digital fabrication is a vision of “next generations ICT” with the potential to capture the requirements for the 21st century. But it is required that schools, municipalities, regions and ressource centers work closely together to show how it should be understood and carried out. Experiments with different pedagogical methods for digital fabrication, will be conducted in the project. OBJECTIVE:- To increase teachers’ competences and pedagogical skills in educational digital fabrication; - To provide pupils with innovative skills and digital competences required in the 21st century;- To develop methodological principles for educational digital fabrication; and - To develop EU recommendations and policy formulation adaption of educational digital fabrication in EU.NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS:The primary target group in the project is teachers in elementary schools across Europe. Approx. 38 teachers will be directly involved in the project activities, such as data collection and testing of methodological principles in classes. Approx. 300 students will be involved in the testing. Municipalities, managers and other stakeholders will also be involved throughout the project. Additionally, researchers and a professor from Aarhus University will be in charge of developing methodological principles for educational digital fabrication. In total the project will involve 1048 participants (see E.1.). ACTIVITIES:- 5 partner meetings- Development of methodological principles for educational digital fabrication - Collection of good practices in educational digital fabrication- Testing of methods in schools- Production of manual- Production of policy recommendations - Final conference + online streaming METHODOLOGY:Through a strong partnership the project aims to exchange, develop and test methods for educational digital fabrication. This will result in a manual of methodological principles for educational digital fabrication and policy recommendations for a common EU approach for educational digital fabrication.RESULTS AND IMPACT:Results in the project are development and testing of methodological principles for educational digital fabrication in schools in the partner countries. This framework will enable teachers to organize and include educational digital fabrication in their teaching. Moreover, pupils in schools will be equipped with digital competences, which provide them with innovative skills for the 21st century. The project also develops policy recommendations on how to adapt this approach and formulate policy recommendations with the purpose a common European strategy for Fablab education in schools.POTENTIAL LONGER TERM BENEFITS: The project develops a manual of methodological principles for educational digital fabrication targeted teachers and stakeholders such as municipalities and educational institutions working with elementary schools. Furthermore, the project will make policy recommendations for principles in school education including digital fabrication targeted politicians and decision-makers. Since the phenomenon digital fabrication is a new, huge trend across Europe, we expect that the manual and recommendations will serve as inspiration – not only for countries participating in the project - but for all European countries after the EU funding period. An effective dissemination strategy will secure that the project results will be widespread to adult educational institutions, municipalities, politicians etc.