The Open Hardware Summit is held in a different city each year. OSHWA is looking for an amazing community to act as the host for the 2027 Open Hardware Summit. As host, you will act as the team on the ground coordinating with OSHWA and the Summit Chair to make the Summit a reality. OSHWA covers the cost of the Summit, although potential hosts are encouraged to help identify sponsors, grants, and other sources of support if available.
Interested? Fill out the expression of interest by April 15th:
https://forms.gle/aftRM3wadubXvGyj6
Curious to know more? Read on below
Open Hardware Summit Host Requirements and Roles
Overview
About the Summit
Since 2010, the Open Source Hardware Association, a 501(c)(3) not for profit charity, has hosted the Open Hardware Summit- a comprehensive conference for the open hardware community and the ever changing open source hardware movement.
Speakers include world renowned leaders from industry, academia, the arts and maker community. Talks cover a wide range of subjects from electronics, mechanics to related fields such as digital fabrication, fashion technology, self-quantification devices, and IP law. As a microcosm of the Open Source Hardware community, the Open Hardware Summit provides an annual, friendly forum for the community.
The Summit welcomes between 300 and 600 participants from around the world each spring and has evolved into a two day event. The first day focuses on a single track of presentations and speakers. The second day focuses on a variety of workshops, breakout sessions, and tours.
You can explore previous Summits on the OSHWA website. Each Summit is archived at the subdomain for its year at the OSHWA site (for example, 2026.oshwa.org, 2025.oshwa.org, etc.).
About Hosting
Acting as a host organization is a unique way to bring the open hardware community to your location and connect them with open hardware happening where you are.
The host organization acts as the local host for the Summit. It acts as the primary point of contact for OSHWA in the host location and helps OSHWA connect with the local open hardware community. The host organization can be a formal entity (educational institution, nonprofit, business) or simply a group of community members. Key roles for the host organization are:
Finding and securing appropriate venues and support services for the Summit
Connecting OSHWA with the local open hardware community
Processing payment (optional) (as appropriate)
Identifying local sponsors (optional)
Identifying local sources of grants or other support (optional)
The Summit is primarily funded through sponsorship and ticket sales. While the host organization is not expected to pay for elements of the Summit directly, it is expected to provide OSHWA with any applicable discounts or special services it may have access to.
Specifics
These specifics are intended to provide a high level overview of the types of things that OSHWA expects from host organizations. Each Summit is unique, so they may not all apply to every Summit. You can apply even if you do not meet every single requirement!
Location requirements
Travel
Attendees come from all over the world, though primarily Europe, North America, and Asia. The venue should be accessible by an international airport.
Event location (OSHWA gives priority to hosts who can provide space at no cost)
Space for the Day 1 presentation track. Ideally this is a theater-style room that can accommodate 300-500 attendees with A/V (presentation and recording). There also needs to be adjacent/nearby space for 20-30 demonstration tables (including available power).
Space for the Day 2 workshop/breakout track. This includes at least 2-3 rooms of various sizes that can accommodate groups of 30-80 people and appropriate A/V capabilities.
Spaces for breaks (twice daily) and lunch. Lunch may be catered or purchased by attendees at one or multiple convenient locations. These should be in an easily-accessible central location to the conference sessions.
Local catering options should be able to meet a variety of dietary needs
Travel around the conference venue should be walkable or accessible via public transport.
Hotels should be reasonably priced, and walkable or accessible via public transport to the conference venue.
Technical requirements
A/V and Wifi
Wifi for conference participants, including external access to SSH (22), VPN and basic web access
Laptop provided at the front of the room plus support for presenters to use their own laptops
Projector with a large screen
Rooms will require handheld microphones for attendees to ask presenters questions
Live video streaming and recording of primary sessions, including the speaker and the slides
Host staff roles
Local planning committee members
Staff or members of the host institution are responsible for joining OSHWA staff in creating a local planning committee to plan local arrangements for the event.
This committee will meet at least monthly (and more frequently as the event date approaches) beginning in Fall 2026.
Local planning contact
The host provides a primary contact for the conference who serves on the event planning committee and provides knowledge and helps make local arrangements like reserving rooms and suggesting lunch restaurants.
This contact is also the point person for local issues for the duration of the conference.
Local community engagement
The host helps to identify individuals and organizations within the local community that might be interested in participating in the Summit
Costs/expenses
Costs
OSHWA covers the cost of running the conference, including catering and other expenses, through ticket sales and sponsorship.
The host institution is expected to convey any internal discounts for catering, A/V, and printing.
OSHWA will require a preliminary budget for space, catering, and A/V support prior to committing to a host location.
Sponsorship
Sponsors are typically acknowledged during the event and in Summit promotional materials
Local Grants
Grants and other types of support from governments, foundations, and other institutions may be available to support the Summit. Hosts are encouraged to help OSHWA identify, apply for, and process these grants in order to support the Summit.
Fellowships
OSHWA provides a Fellowship program that includes travel and conference assistance to encourage more women, nonbinary, trans, LGBTQA+, Black, Indigenous, people of color and disabled people to participate in open source. These fellowships are funded through sponsors and ticket sales.
Payment processing
In some locations OSHWA may look to the host organization to assist with processing payment. This is especially important in jurisdictions that require local registration for tax and other purposes.
