Maker Faire Rome 2022 Submissions are Complete

The submission period for Maker Faire Rome is now completed. The event, taking place October 7-9, 2022, will feature over 600 projects from all over the globe. A wide variety of disciplines are represented, including projects aimed at the fabrication and manufacturing industries to smart devices for education, healthcare, and even space exploration.

Multiple calls were made for project submissions, including the "Make to Care" contest, promoted by Sanofi. The award focuses on projects providing ways to permanently improve the quality of life for people suffering from a disability, chronic illness, or disease.

A large number of exhibitors registered after callouts to schools and independent makers to show their creativity. No doubt everyone is excited to get back to in-person events after working behind closed doors for the previous two years! While the call for exhibitors is officially closed, you can still apply and be put on the waiting list in case other groups drop out. You can find further details on the Maker Faire How to Apply page.

If you want to attend Maker Faire Rome, keep an eye on the official website, tickets will be going on sale soon - although we'll definitely be giving everyone a reminder when this happens. See you there!

Building Satellites for Elon -  a Maker Faire Rome 2021 Success Story

Davide Nejoumi has had a busy few years. The 23-year-old engineer has gone from student, to startup providing tech for SpaceX at a remarkable speed - and it all pivoted around a chance meeting at Maker Faire Rome 2021.

During the show, Nejoumi met Davide Petenzi (the second of what would become four people called Davide on the team), who was displaying the Sally PQ-1 DIY satellite. Delta Space Leonis, the resulting startup was quickly noticed by a team working with SpaceX who needed a small satellite for high atmosphere tests.

Here's what happened in the words of Nejoumi:

“In 2019 I won a 'Torno subito' scholarship to go to Shanghai. I then won a tender issued by Lazio's regional authority. I submitted my idea for a startup, which I launched in 2021. We set up the team on the 25th of October that same year and barely a month later we took part in the Espace Meeting in Turin. Here we were contacted by an Indian company that had to prepare for a launch into space with Elon Musk's company SpaceX: they needed a satellite and they asked us to build it. In 2023 we will be in orbit aboard SpaceX with a satellite made here in Rome“

The goals of the project are still unclear, though the core of the project seems to be testing communications infrastructure and the feasibility of orbit-to-ground data transfers.

Whatever the future holds for Delta Space Leonis, they've hit the ground running, or should we say reached for the stars?