The Summit, including its chairs and staff, is primarily volunteer-based and OSHWA operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. We cannot offer speaker stipends. We do have a fellowship program that may offer financial support. Please email us for more information or check the Summit website.
DEADLINE: Sunday, December 21, 2025.
We invite talk proposals from individuals, groups, collectives, collaborators, and first time presenters.
We are actively seeking submissions from people, ideas, and perspectives traditionally under represented in Open Hardware and technology in general. We ask for your help to reach people who might not be part of communities that typically circulate these calls - Please share! We actively seek submissions from people of color, women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, gender non conforming and trans people, people with disabilities, indigenous people, people of varying socio-economic status, people of varying levels of formalized education, people from various global communities, and other marginalized populations
If you are a first time speaker and would like mentorship or to go over your presentation or submission, don't hesitate to reach out to lee at hello@leecyb.org or summit@oshwa.org
This years event will take place in Berlin, Germany, May 23 & 24, 2026! All talks will be live streamed, limited remote talks permitted!
Find more information at 2026.OSHWA.org
You may submit more than 1 proposal.
We are accepting TALKS and WORKSHOPS, PERFORMANCES, ART and EXHIBITIONS .
TALKS:
IN PERSON TALKS: 20 minutes in-person talks
-- LIGHTNING TALKS - 5 minutes virtually or in person, in Berlin, Germany. This should be a quick idea or concept you want to share.
-- ASYNC TALKS - 15 minute talks uploaded to the OSHWA YouTube Channel
We are especially looking for speakers who can offer insights on the current climate of Open Hardware. Some suggested areas of interest are:
- Outer space exploration and Earth observation
- Manufacturing processes and supply chains
- Craftwork
- Untold histories
- Speculative futures & experimental tech
- Art and design in Open Hardware
- Community engagement
- Process and iteration
- Medical devices and manufacturing
We welcome all proposals that do not cover these topics, or cover other topics you are excited about!
We are accepting both remote and in person talks, however we will accept majority 20 minute in-person talks with a handful of exceptions
WORKSHOPS: 60 minutes, in person only.
Fees & Tickets: All workshop fees will be handled by the workshop presenter. We will provide guidance on how this works and assist in promoting and sharing the event. Workshops will be ticketed individually.
Time: All workshops are 60 minutes. It is not enough time to make something big, so its best to focus on an idea, technical aspects or concept and let people finish the work after. There will be place outside workshop time for participants to work.
- Skill sharing of techniques
- Build-A-Long style small projects
- Discussion groups
- Performances or art engagements
EXHIBITION TABLES
Set up an exhibition table at the event! It can be big or small project. If you are a company or for-profit organization or are looking to sell things, please contact us about sponsorship. If you have a cool project or tool you want to share, this is for you!
PERFORMANCE & ART:
We may have space for performances throughout the day, parties or spaces to set up art. Please submit some art! Please be specific about your technical needs so we can find a place for you. You will be responsible for shipping your own artwork.
The Open Hardware Summit is for presenting, discussing, and learning about open hardware of all kinds. The summit examines open hardware applications, practices, and theory, ranging from environmental sensors to 3D printable medical devices to open hardware processors, community engagement, art and installation, design, and beyond. We are interested in open hardware on its own as well as in relation to topics such as software, design, business, law, and education. Past talks have featured topics such as advances in space propulsion, humanitarian projects, right to repair legislation, open hardware in education, and open hardware marketing.
SELECTION PROCESS
If you would like to submit a proposal in a format alternative to this form, or if you'd like assistance please email the Summit Chair, lee wilkins at hello@leecyb.org. Submissions will not be anonymized this year, which allows you to submit work that might contain identifiable information.
In your proposal, please be clear about what you intend to present and how it is relevant to the open hardware community. For example:
- Show how you created a novel solution to a problem with open hardware
- Explain best practices for designing/using/troubleshooting open hardware
- Discuss the background and implications of a legal issue that impacts open hardware
- We are interested in all kinds of submissions, from How-Tos, to historical surveys, to personal stories, to hardware testing results. However, submissions primarily consisting of marketing for a product, non-profit, or company will not be accepted. Submissions that share knowledge and insight derived from work on commercial products or at organizations are welcome.
- Keep in mind we’ll be deciding what to accept based primarily on the submissions themselves and not external materials. Be sure to give us enough information to make a well-informed decision. Documentation of accepted submissions will be published on the OHS website. Proposals will be scored by a panel. You may ask for feedback after your submission.
For questions, include [OHS26] in the subject line of an email to the summit@oshwa.org.
