Bergen Open Source Conference 2026

This year's conference will be held on 23 October at Bergen Camping (Kong Oscars gate 45, Bergen).

Expect talks on keyboard customization, scientific software, organizational open source and OSPOs, digital sovereignty, Linux workflows, and GCC compiler development. We hope to see you in Bergen!

One of last years speakers

BOS konferansen aims to create a meeting place for students and businesses in Bergen. We want to create a conference that is accessible to everyone and can serve as a platform for teaching and inspiring open source and open data.

More about Bergen Open Source

Our speakers

Simon Šanca picture

Simon Šanca

Head Engineer, IT division at the University of Bergen

Carsten Thiel picture

Carsten Thiel

Platform developer, Sparebanken Norge

Roberth Strand picture

Roberth Strand

Principal Cloud Native Architect, Sopra Steria

Jørgen Kvalsvik picture

Jørgen Kvalsvik

Programmer, Director at Patch

Thomas Röblitz picture

Thomas Röblitz

Leader product line for research data services, IT division at the University of Bergen

Speaker to be announced

Schedule

Practical
Talk
Break
16:30
Doors open

Try to arrive early!

30 minutes
17:00
Short introduction

A brief introduction to the Bergen Open Source Conference, including some practical information about the evening.

10 minutes
17:10
Geospatial Ducks - DuckDB in practice

The combination of DuckDB and QGIS delivers lightning-fast data processing alongside powerful mapping and spatial analysis. Query massive datasets directly from files with DuckDB and seamlessly connect the results to QGIS for visualization and insight. Join us as we dive into the world of open-source geo-spatial analytics and discover the freedom, flexibility, and adventure of navigating the data like a true pirate roaming uncharted waters in the geo-spatial domain.

Simon Šanca
20 minutes
17:30
Custom Keyboards - building your own layouts, firmware and hardware

Your keyboard has no mechanical levers — so why does it look like a 1873 typewriter? And why can't I have all the symbols I need and have them arranged more conveniently? - Spoiler: You can! - In this talk we'll investigate how to use open source solutions from xkb to QMK to customize your keyboard to your liking. From adding custom characters to keys in software to adding whole new functionality by compiling your very own firmware. And, of course, the option to design and solder your own hardware with your favourite mechanical switches. - Warning: You might leave the evening with a whole new hobby!

Carsten Thiel
20 minutes
18:00
Food

Food break

60 minutes
19:00
Take your company from passive consumers to active contributors

This talk explains why companies that depend on open source should consider contributing back to the projects they use. It introduces the role of an Open Source Program Office (OSPO), how it can help a company move from consuming open source to contributing time, money and code, and how to make the case for an OSPO or a stronger upstream engineering culture.

Roberth Strand
20 minutes
19:20
A new era in code coverage in GCC

This talk presents recent code coverage features added to the GNU Compiler Collection: prime path coverage, modified condition/decision coverage (MC/DC), and high-resolution coverage suppression. It covers how the features work, the algorithms behind them, and the experience of contributing them to GCC from first contact with the codebase through merge and release.

Jørgen Kvalsvik
30 minutes
19:50
Scientific Software with EESSI

Installing and maintaining scientific software across laptops, cloud infrastructure and large HPC systems can be difficult. EESSI, the European Environment for Scientific Software Installations, provides a shared open-source software stack with optimized installations that can be used across these environments. This talk introduces how EESSI works, the role of CernVM-FS, EasyBuild and Gentoo Prefix, and what using EESSI looks like in practice. It also shows how shared infrastructure can reduce duplicated work and make scientific software easier to access, reproduce and maintain without sacrificing performance.

Thomas Röblitz
20 minutes
17:30
Talk to be announced
Speaker to be announced
20 minutes
20:30
Thank you for the evening

Thank you for attending the Bergen Open Source Conference!

5 minutes

Our sponsors

Contact us to become a sponsor arrow up right

Questions?

Who can attend? We invite everyone interested in technology, privacy, and open source to attend the conference. There are no membership or qualification requirements to participate.
What language are the talks in? A flag next to the speaker will indicate the language the talk is presented in. All talks will be in either Norwegian Bokmål, Nynorsk, or English. The speaker chooses the language they will use.
Will there be food? We serve food to everyone who registers in advance. We cannot guarantee food for those who do not register and show up on the day. Please let us know about allergies or special needs when signing up.
Where does the conference take place? At the top of this page you can see where the conference is held. If it says TBA, we haven't finalized a venue yet. We'll announce this through our channels.
Will there be a bar? Bar availability will depend on the venue. It's not certain that a bar will be available on the day. If it is available, we will serve both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.
Is it free? Yes, the conference is free and open to everyone thanks to our generous sponsors and contributors <3