The BMFTR network meeting focussed on transfer and consolidation and at the same time reminded participants of a basic principle of scientific work: experimentation and (being allowed to) fail - true to Gerhard Vollmer's motto "Wir irren uns empor!". DATIpilot projects, T!RAUM initiatives, project organisers, advisory board and accompanying research came together for two days each, providing valuable insights into their work and important impulses as well as information for the upcoming reviews at the beginning of next year.

Selected projects presented their work in a moderated round, followed by short sprint exchanges in the audience. Despite the compact format, it became clear that more time would have been desirable for direct dialogue. The demonstrators we brought along - including our OSH hoover, the OpenCyclone - made it easier to start discussions and at the same time showed the potential of open source hardware, aroused curiosity and made results visible.

The most intensive format was the problem-solving islands: 12 initiatives, 12 tables, 10 minutes per round. Here it became clear that despite different professional backgrounds, similar challenges often arise. The difficulty of finding new partners, especially SMEs, and ways of transferring ideas to society, such as start-ups, associations, collaborations or synergy potential with other initiatives, was a recurring theme.

In many discussions, it also became clear that open source is still not well established in many disciplines. At the same time, the principle offers the opportunity to make results permanently accessible - but there is often a lack of didactic preparation for a broad public. This means that we in the OSHOP project are facing similar questions to many other initiatives: How can perpetuation and long-term provision succeed?

The accompanying research emphasised that the transition to teaching and existing organisations are also forms of transfer. This perspective opens up additional ways of anchoring project results in the long term, as already demonstrated by our model factory, the IIoT testbed of the Chair of Information Management at HTW Dresden.

Overall, the network meeting lived up to its claim: intensive discussions, concrete connection opportunities and visible synergies. The majority were clearly in favour of repeating the event; only the lack of daylight was criticised.

Further news at: https://www.oshop-network.de/news/