Education & Training

Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium 2026

This edition has ended

Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium 2026 ran Oct 26–27, 2026 at University of Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain. It is an Education & Training conference. ConferenceGrid lists 49 speakers, 4 sponsors and 120 sessions. Dates for the next edition are not announced yet.

Lineup updated Oct 27, 2026 · dates verified Jun 14, 2026

The Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium 2026 is a global, multidisciplinary research symposium that brings together academics and practitioners to advance the understanding of open technologies in the modern world and to produce policy-relevant research that helps decision-makers drive impact. Themed 'Shaping the Open Transition', the event focuses on l…

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49Speakers
4Sponsors
120Sessions
46Companies · in total

Speakers

Programmed at Open, in alphabetical order.

Albert Cañigueral Bagó
AI Factory One-Stop Shop Manager at Barcelona Supercomputing Centre · Barcelona Supercomputing Centre
Alberto Gago Fernández
Director of AESIA · Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (AESIA)
Alek Tarkowski
Director of Strategy at Open Future · Open Future
Bert Boerland
Senior Sales Executive at SUSE; Chair of Dutch Drupal Association · SUSE; Stichting Drupal Nederland
Charlie Martial Ngounou
Managing Partner at PLACE Hub, Founder and President at AfroLeadership · PLACE Hub / AfroLeadership
Cibele Zolnier
Claire Jenifer Pershan
EU Advocacy Lead at Mozilla · Mozilla
Clare Dillon
Doctoral researcher at Lero, University of Galway · Lero - University of Galway
Farooq Zakhilwal
Gabriel Toscano
Teaching Assistant at Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, Technology Policy Analyst at Open Source Initiative · Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy / Open Source Initiative
Henry Poole
CEO · CivicActions
Ignasi Labastida i Juan
Rector’s Delegate for Scientific Publications and Open Science at University of Barcelona · University of Barcelona
Jake Kendall
Research Economist · DFS Lab
Jennifer Tridgell
Independent Consultant, PhD Candidate and World Ramsay Scholar (International Law x Computer Science) at University of Cambridge · University of Cambridge
Jenny Molloy
Assistant Research Professor at University of Cambridge, Group Leader at ICGEB, Member at European Open Source Academy · University of Cambridge / ICGEB / European Open Source Academy
Johan Linåker
Senior Researcher · RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Julius Murke
Katharina Meyer
Director at Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund · Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund
Katie Steen-James
Open Source Initiative (OSI)
Koto Qalo
Founder, Dreamers-Media · Dreamers-Media
Laia Domenech Burin
Data Scientist · Sovereign Tech Agency
Laszlo Igneczi
Executive Director at OpenForum Europe · OpenForum Europe

Sponsors

The companies behind the program. Tiers as disclosed.

Digital Future
OpenForum Europe
Open Knowledge Foundation
Open Source Initiative

Agenda

Selected from 120 sessions.

  • 09:30–09:45

    Welcome Session

  • 09:30–09:50

    How Open Should We Go? A Decision Framework for Open Sourcing, InnerSourcing, or Closing Public Sector Code

    This talk presents an emerging framework for public sector decision-makers to choose between open source, InnerSource and closed code, treating them as a continuum of code stewards…

    Governance
  • 09:45–10:25

    Fireside Chat – Navigating the Open Transition

    Open technologies like source software, open data, and open knowledge increasingly underpin much of the technology that shapes public life, but who controls that technology, and on…

  • 09:50–10:10

    Governance Before Technology: Lessons from Integrate Pasifika for Open Knowledge Infrastructure and Digital Sovereignty in the Pacific

    This talk presents a paper arguing that open technology initiatives fail more often through inadequate governance than technical shortcomings, using Integrate Pasifika as a case. I…

    Governance
  • 10:10–10:40

    Digital Commons as Civic Infrastructure: Governance Frameworks for Open Source AI and Public Accountability

    Addresses how open source software and digital assets can be governed as civic infrastructure for state accountability and sovereignty, proposing a Public-Commons Partnership (PCP)…

    Governance
  • 10:45–11:15

    Special Presentation – The Role of Openness in AI: A Case Study of an Open Source AI Strategy in Spain

    Remarks from Alberto Gago Fernandez, Director of AESIA, the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence. Discussion on the importance of openness in AI, the role …

  • 11:00–11:30

    Reconceptualizing data governance as the interplay between increasing and decreasing openness

    Presents the Openness Dynamics Framework (ODF), developed in D4D Asia, framing data governance as the interplay between openness-promoting and restricting technologies, laws, and p…

    Governance
  • 11:15–11:45

    Extending digital sovereignty beyond software: the role of open source hardware

    This talk presents a paper arguing that digital sovereignty, usually addressed through software, data and platforms, ultimately depends on hardware design, manufacturing and govern…

  • 11:45–12:15

    Mapping the OSH Manufacturing Landscape: Facilitative Models for Open Source Hardware in Europe and Beyond

    This talk presents a paper mapping the intermediation models, such as commercial manufacturers, brokerage networks and consortium-based vendors, that link OSH researchers with manu…

Quick answers

When is Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium 2026?
Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium 2026 ran Oct 26–27, 2026 at University of Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain.
Where is Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium 2026 held?
Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium 2026 was held at University of Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain.
Who is speaking at Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium 2026?
ConferenceGrid lists 49 speakers, including Albert Cañigueral Bagó (AI Factory One-Stop Shop Manager at Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, Barcelona Supercomputing Centre), Alberto Gago Fernández (Director of AESIA, Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (AESIA)) and Alek Tarkowski (Director of Strategy at Open Future, Open Future).
Who sponsors Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium 2026?
ConferenceGrid lists 4 sponsors: Digital Future, OpenForum Europe, Open Knowledge Foundation and Open Source Initiative.
Company intelligence

What does it mean when 46 companies show up, and 1 bet on three roles at once?

46 companies. one are betting more than once.

The numbers below are derived from the speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors on this page, cross-referenced into one ledger. They are the only thing here that 10times.com cannot tell you.

Who's in the room
1All threespeak · spons · exh
3Sponsoringsponsor only
42Speakingspeaker only

In all three roles

OpenForum Europe

Speakers by seniority

37% of the speakers carry senior titles: C-suite, Founder, VP, or Director-level.

  • C-suite36%
  • Founder / Owner918%
  • Director / Head of612%
  • Manager / Lead48%
  • Engineer · IC24%
  • Research / Science1122%
  • Advisor / Investor24%
  • Other roles1224%

Of 49 speakers · classified by free-text title

Most-represented companies
#CompanyRolesSpeakers
1OpenForum EuropeSponsor1
2Digital FutureSponsor-
3Open Knowledge FoundationSponsor-
4Open Source InitiativeSponsor-
5Platoniq2
6RISE Research Institutes of Sweden2
7Sovereign Tech Agency2
8Barcelona Supercomputing Centre1
9Centre for Internet and Society1
10CivicActions1
11CNRS1
12DFS Lab1
13Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund1
14Digital Public Goods Alliance1
Sponsors by tier
unspecified4
100% of 4