Access to research hardware remains a global challenge and it impacts also researchers in high-income countries. The availability of hardware may be limited due to lack of funding, slow acquisition processes, geographic distance, and many scientific hardware solutions are not commercially available at all.

To solve this issue the open source hardware (analogous to open source software) are being developed to facilitate hardware access, dissemination, and reproducibility. 

The big difference to software is that with open hardware, the blueprints and assembly instructions are open, but the physical instruments and hardware still need to be built. The open hardware spans from simple 3D prints to complicated customized instruments. In order to lower the barrier to utilize the open hardware, it is crucial to provide researchers with practical experience in making hardware.

Many suitable platforms in Turku exist already (eg. Protopaja, 3Dprinters, Maker´s studio, many labs etc.) but they are scattered and researchers are not well aware of them. In addition, working together with something new is also one of the best ways to promote collaboration and networking. Therefore, we are now organizing open hardware workshops aimed at enhancing skills of bioscience researchers and strengthening the collaborative environment in the BioCity Turku community.

Bioscience Open Hardware Workshop is free of charge and intended for experienced researchers with M.Sc. or Ph.D. (or similar) degrees. If you want to participate, sign up at latest 10 November here: https://konsta.utu.fi/Default.aspx?tabid=88&tap=23205

More information from Illkka Paatero (zebrafish@bioscience.fi) and from https://www.utu.fi/en/node/418498

Welcome!