Ebtikar Association, a non-governmental organisation focused on innovation, has launched Ebtikar Space and the first "Fab Lab" in Bahrain.

Supported by Bader Group and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) International Network of Fab Labs, the project will be housed in the Bader 2 Building in Seef District, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

Ebtikar Space will be home to the head office of Ebtikar Association and the first lab.

The network comprises more than 200 Fab Labs worldwide and with this initiative Bahrain will become the third Arab country to join this network launched and supervised by MIT since 2005.

A Fab Lab is a high-tech workshop more advanced than a conventional workshop.

It features highly advanced digital manufacturing equipment operated by computer hardware and software.

Through the Fab Lab, advanced designs are prepared for products that will be turned out from it after the manufacture or installation of such products.

In other words, it is like a small industrial plant with all the associated elements such as industrial operations, safety measures and interaction of the ideas of designers, talented people, programmers, engineers and marketers who will share this environment.

Bahrain's own Fab Lab is expected to be operational and open for visitors and users by the end of the year.

The announcement follows the signing yesterday of a memorandum of understanding between Ebtikar Association founder and chairman Osama Al Khajah and Bader Group chairman Fareed Bader.

"The initiative is not only significant because it is unique but also because the Fab Lab with its equipment and software will exceed what is offered by the ordinary and conventional programmes to their users in general and will also be open with all its resources to all residents in Bahrain," stated Al Khajah.

"Moreover, it will enable them to meet and communicate with all Fab Lab users in the MIT international network allowing for the exchange of expertise and mutual experimentation.

'The Ebtikar Association is the first of its kind in Bahrain and seeks through local and international social networks to develop a specialised platform for supporting an innovation-led community.

"The association seeks to mobilise resources, apply the best practices and be a leader of innovation," he added.-TradeArabia News Service