SCREWDRIVERS, soldering iron, wrenches, and nuts and bolts are strewn about the floor. Tables and chairs are scattered all around the place. Indifferent to appearing like the site of a shipwreck, over a dozen university students are seriously engaged in their work in the 10x5-meter room.

Some are soldering electronic components, drilling, or laying down while reading a book. Others go over formulas on the computer screen. This is the workshop—