OSHWA Launches New Open Hardware Trailblazers Fellowship Program
Open Hardware Trailblazers Fellowship program will raise the profile of existing open hardware work within academia.
The open source hardware community has exploded since the first Open Hardware Summit hosted by OSHWA (Open Source Hardware Association) way back in 2010. In just over a decade we’ve seen open hardware in space and under the sea, hardware made of electronics, and hardware made of yarn. This growth has been fueled by the open source hardware community clustered in companies, nonprofits, basements, research organizations, and hackerspaces. Check out OSHWA's State of Open Source Hardware Report 2021.
With the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, OSHWA is taking their next giant step towards expanding open source hardware in academia with their new Open Hardware Trailblazers Fellowship program. The Fellowship is the culmination of the Higher Education program they announced at the 2020 Summit, and builds on the information they have learned from the survey of the academic community in 2021. The program recognizes open source hardware community members as they succeed in academia, supporting them as they make it easier to follow their path.
The one-year fellowship provides $50,000 or $100,000 grants to individuals who are leading the way as open source hardware expands into academia. Documentation is key to open source hardware, and these Fellowships will support the development of documentation for how to successfully make open source hardware work across a broad spectrum of academic environments and departments.
Selected fellows will be announced at the end of May 2022.
Learn more about the program's background and approach on OSHWA website here.