Call for Abstracts
The Gathering for Open Science Hardware (GOSH) invites submissions for short oral presentations and posters at our 2026 Gathering in Kathmandu, Nepal. GOSH brings together hardware developers, researchers, educators, community scientists, funders, and advocates working to make open science hardware ubiquitous worldwide. We invite you to present your work, build new connections, and contribute to the global conversation on the future of open science hardware.
About the Presentations
Each day of the Gathering includes a dedicated hybrid oral presentation slot featuring 3 to 5 talks of 10 minutes each. We welcome contributions from practitioners across all settings: academic researchers, community organizations, independent makers, educators, advocates, and anyone doing meaningful work with open science hardware. Presenters can share work in progress, completed projects, case studies, or reflective practice.
Poster Submissions
We also welcome poster submissions across all ten tracks. Posters are an excellent format for presenting projects, tools, datasets, or work in progress. We particularly encourage state-of-the-art review posters that synthesize the current landscape of a specific OScH domain and identify cross-cutting challenges. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, photometry, electrophysiology, microscopy, bioreactors, and lab automation. Review posters of this kind offer attendees a curated overview of a field and serve as a lasting resource for the community after the Gathering.
Publication and Peer Review
All accepted abstracts will be peer reviewed and published as conference proceedings. Presenters who wish to develop their work further are invited to submit extended abstracts for inclusion in the proceedings. We are also actively seeking collaboration with open-access journals for a special edition featuring selected contributions from the Gathering. More details on the journal partnership will be announced as the conference approaches.
Tracks
We are accepting abstracts across the following ten tracks:
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1Open Hardware in the WildField instruments, environmental sensors, and biodiversity monitoring. Hardware designed for real-world conditions: from camera traps to water quality tools, ecological sensing to community-led environmental data collection.
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2From Prototype to PolicyNavigating institutional adoption of open science hardware. Academic credibility, procurement reform, UNESCO frameworks, and strategies for embedding OScH into open science policy.
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3Distributed Making: Local Fabrication at ScaleCooperative manufacturing, supply chain resilience, and the practicalities of producing hardware locally. Includes lessons from distributed manufacturing during the COVID-19 pandemic and visions for local hardware ecosystems.
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4Community Science in ActionParticipatory research where communities are co-designers, not just end-users. Citizen science projects, community labs, and locally-driven hardware development that centers the people it serves.
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5Open Hardware for Research and EducationMaker pedagogy, curriculum integration, and teacher training with open tools. How open hardware is transforming research, classrooms, informal learning spaces, and the next generation of makers and scientists.
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6Bridging the Divide: OScH for the Global SouthEquity-centered hardware development, low-cost instrument design, and open hardware as infrastructure for SDG-related research in under-resourced contexts. Who gets to build science, and how do we change that?
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7Making It Last: Sustaining Open Hardware Projects Beyond the GrantBusiness models, licensing strategies, social enterprises, and pathways to commercialization that do not sacrifice openness. How do we build projects that outlive their funding?
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8Hardware Meets Open DataIntegrating open instrumentation with open data workflows. Reproducibility, FAIR-hardware principles, documentation standards, and interoperability with open software ecosystems.
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9Building the Commons: Governance, Social Studies, and the Future of OScHGovernance, community health, and the GOSH Roadmap revision, alongside empirical and theoretical research on open science hardware as a commons. How do OScH communities share knowledge, govern resources, and navigate epistemic and technical diversity? We welcome contributions from social science, science and technology studies (STS), and community-based research perspectives.
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10Open Science Hardware as a Bridge to TechnodiversityOn the deviations, subversions, and appropriations of open scientific tools as means for new narratives and non-hegemonic worldviews.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit a short abstract (250 to 350 words) describing your presentation or poster. Your abstract should include:
- The problem or question your work addresses
- Your approach or methods
- Key findings, outcomes, or lessons learned
- Why this work is relevant to the GOSH community
Submissions are welcome in English or Spanish.
Key Dates & Submission
August 15th, 2026
gathering at openhardware . science
August 23rd, 2026