Antwerp Garage

The Garage in Antwerp is a makerspace where Nokia employees can invent and learn by making. The garage offers two rooms, one for "explore" and one for "make". The garage is equipped with popular maker tools, such as: 3D printers, dremels, solder stations, collection of Arduino and Raspberry Pi, and more.

The Garage located in Antwerp was inaugurated in October 2016, with the aim of bringing people across divisions and disciplines together to work for a common goal, and the creation of a tangible asset.

The most prestigious project of 2017 was the creation of 3D printers during a huge RepRap project. Forty employees created their own 3D printers, one per each employee. Meanwhile, they were trained in the art of designing and printing prototypes in 3D.

The proof of the pudding was in the eating, and at the end of the project, all participants had to design and print a puzzle piece on their own "home-made" 3D printer. This, again, bolstered their creativity.

One of the most noticeable project in 2018 has been the home automation project – or the sensing, actuating, close feedback monitoring and driving according to predefined rules, rendering of a multitude of information on different media. As the race to the moon in 1962, a way was to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, so is the “Connected Fishtank” project a demonstration platform of the different capabilities and functionalities that we could integrate in any house. Therefore, also in this project, the focus is again on learning by doing, team-spirit and creativity.

The Garage is always a main attractor during local Nokia Antwerp STEM activities, through what we want to motivate young people to join Nokia and/or to start their studies on engineering or science.