Hi everyone at Starship Factory! I wanted to share this letter to the plenary of SF for you guys to discuss in the next meeting you have. In my letter, I propose to make an official partnership and reciprocity agreement between my lab (lambda biolab) and starship factory. Members of starship factory will get free access (up to 30 days per year) to the lab here to do any wet lab experiments you want.
Please see the link here:
I have enabled anyone to directly comment on the document.
Here is the official website of the lab, where you can see what kinds of equipments and materials are available:
It has taken a little longer, but now I am ready to comment
Firstly, thank so much for making this proposal. I very much like to the idea to connect the spaces and exchange/collaborate in the future.
I have read through your proposal and would like to make the following comments:
Purchase of 3D printed lab equipment
When needed, Lambda Biolab will regularly purchase and hire experts from Starship Factory to fabricate and assemble lab equipment for the lab.
Starship Factory does not offer 3D printing as a service, but you can, of course, always approach members and ask them to help you with your projects. Whether that includes a compensation is up to you and the person you are collaborating with. Normal costs for machine use apply in this case. There is no agreement required.
3. Reciprocity Agreement for Facility Access
…
In the spirit of mutual benefit, the reciprocity agreement will also grant Lambda Biolab members free access to the facilities at Starship Factory for up to 30 days per year.
Starship Factory is and has always been open to anyone without membership. The only difference between members and non-members is that members benefit from lower prices for machine use, may apply for a key and have the right to vote in plenary sessions and the annual assembly. There is no agreement required.
Overall, I have the impression that we do not need a formal agreement. What I would rather suggest is to organize two events: one at Starship Factory and another one at Lambda Biolab for mutual introduction and to connect.
We could further cross-link our web pages and include a bit of advertisement for the other space.
In my view, the coolest thing that can happen is that members from each space start working together on interesting projects, contributing their individual skill sets. Let us aim for that.
Thanks for the information. Apologies as I didn’t know how Starship Factory operated so I just assumed everyone paid a membership fee :p. I was a member while I was in basel but I assumed everyone who joined goy a key. But anyway, I completely agree with your points. Maybe a formal agreement isn’t required. But I would like to make something official to market starship factory on my website and give some nice perks to starship factory members. While the more advance equiopment would require people to come to Dietikon, I could actually bring my bento lab to Starship Factory in Basel some day and do a free class if anyone wants to learn how to genetically engineer their own glowing bacteria. I have everything working now. If it’s successful, maybe we could even offer the class together to high school or university students for a small fee. Would you guys be willing to brainstorm some ideas with me? I also want to help bring some money and publicity in for starship factory.
