Welcome to the conference!
Participant registration for 2027 is not opened yet. Registration is also required from passive visitors. Attendance at the conference is free of charge. The conference is informal and on-site only. We speak English, Slovak, Czech, and Polish.
15th edition of the conference
30. 6. – 2. 7. 2027
Faculty of Management Science and Informatics
University of Žilina, Slovakia
Warm Greetings and Messages
„On behalf of May-Britt and Edvard Moser I want to thank you for this kind invitation, it is a pleasure being asked. However, due to several travels and commitments, May-Britt and Edvard is unfortunately not able to accept the invitation. We are sorry for this, but hope you understand. Thanks again and the best of luck with the event. Best.“
— May-Britt Moser, Edvard I. Moser, laureates of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
„Professor Genzel thanks you again for your kind message and the renewed invitation. Unfortunately, as you have already anticipated, the dates of the conference overlap again with the Lindau conference, so he regrets that he won’t be able to join you. Thank you again for your kind invitation. We wish you a successful conference. Best wishes.“
— Reinhard Genzel, laureate of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Invited Speakers
— Professor Ivan Cimrák (provisional title): PyOIF with applications in biomedicine and examples of international collaboration. Further details will be published in August 2026.
Available times for speakers
— Invited lecture. 35 minutes + 5 minutes for discussion, transitions, and a technical break.
— Other lectures. 15 minutes + 5 minutes for discussion, transitions, and a technical break.
— Seminars. Individually arranged.
What should you not forget before the conference?
Papers for the proceedings (not compulsory, but very welcome), and anything you would like to publish before or after the conference (especially presentation slides, source code from seminars, photos, supplementary materials, etc.), please send to Beerb (beerb@frcatel.fri.uniza.sk) or to the three musketeers: Ondřej, Milo, Mirek B.
- Register.
- Your business cards, so that you can hand them out.
- An extension lead with power sockets. There will be many of us, so it will be useful.
- Book or reserve accommodation.
- If you are staying in accommodation: a valid ID card or passport.
- A good mood.
Participants (updated regularly: 6.7.2026)
Do you not see yourself here? Do not hesitate to write to us or register so that we know about you!
Confirmed participants (Guest team): ★♥Zuzana Tkáčová (UPJŠ and ŠUP Košice), 🐍Miroslav Biňas (TUKE, Košice), Pavel Stříž (Austerlitz, Butschowitz), 🌐Miloslav Ofúkaný (Geokomunita, Ministerstvo vnútra SR, Bratislava), 🌐Ondřej Ledvinka (ČHMÚ, Prague).
Local participants (Home team): ★Aleš Kozubík, 🍀Rudolf Blaško, Miroslav Kvaššay, ♥Nika Kvaššayová, Peter Márton, 🐍Michal Kaukič, 🐍Štefan Peško, ♥Zuzana Borčinová, Tomáš Majer, Štefan Toth, Peter Sedláček, Marek Ďurana, Roman Hajtmánek.
We are interested in — we welcome speakers on the following topics:
— Practical experience with vibe coding.
— Experience with Open LiDAR technologies and with programs for processing point clouds.
— Experience with demanding computations.
— About programs at NASA/ESA/JPL, CERN, astrophysics, demanding simulations, …
— Modifying and creating new fonts.
— Interesting and original hardware projects.
— Everything related to open software, open data, and open hardware.
Mission of the Conference
The aim of OSSConf conferences is primarily to provide an informal meeting for supporters of open software and open technologies in general. We want to talk not only scientifically but also in a friendly way about what new things we have discovered in the world of open technologies, exchange experience, and reveal what problems we have managed to solve. Therefore, not only peer-reviewed contributions are welcome, but also non-peer-reviewed presentations, for which we publish abstracts.
For this edition, we have prepared the following sections:
- TEX and Its Typography Friends,
- R and Its Data Science Friends,
- AI & OSS in Education,
- OSS Development, Open Hardware & Cybersecurity,
- Open GIS & GeoData & Mapping,
- Citizen Science,
- Fonts, 2D/3D Graphics & AV Production.
The planned sections are of course not strictly delimited areas; after all, TEX and R have many friends, such as C, Lua, Python, gnuplot, and many others. Likewise, a whole range of tools is used in education, such as GeoGebra, wxMaxima, or the already mentioned R and Python. The range of possible contributions is therefore much broader than it may seem, and we will try to place your contributions into lecture blocks so that they are thematically related.
As the main theme of this year’s conference, we would like to include topics related to artificial intelligence. We are interested both in its construction and machine-learning issues, and in questions of its use, especially in the educational process. We would like to open an informal discussion on how to proceed with AI in education, where we could exchange opinions and experiences if anyone has already used it. For this reason, participation by teachers at all levels is especially welcome for this topic.
OSSConf usually also includes the Missing Maps Mapathon Žilina.
Conference venue, public transport links, and accommodation
For conference participants, we have prepared maps of the OSSConf venue at the Faculty of Management Science and Informatics of the University of Žilina, the nearest public transport stop Fatranská, and the Veľký Diel accommodation facility.
1 – Faculty of Management Science and Informatics, University of Žilina (GPS coordinates 49.20205, 18.76213).
The building is at the end of Vysokoškolákov Street, where trolleybuses turn around at the beginning of Veľký Diel; immediately down the hill to the left next to it is the Transport Research Institute, a.s., Veľký diel 3323, 010 08 Žilina.
Note for newcomers and hackers: for example, the cz.seznam.mapy app and the mapy.com server correctly find the address Vlčince 3729, 010 01 Žilina, but this address is no longer valid in Žilina! On the other hand, the faculty website, https://www.fri.uniza.sk/, lists the valid address Faculty of Management Science and Informatics, Univerzitná 8215/1, 010 26 Žilina, but that is the rectorate campus, not the event venue.
2 – Public transport stop Fatranská (GPS coordinates 49.20461, 18.76301)
- Railway station -> Fatranská:
- trolleybus line No. 14 (direction Fatranská)
- trolleybus line No. 1, but it does not run often
- you can also travel by line No. 4, which takes 6 minutes longer here
- Fatranská -> Railway station
- trolleybus line No. 4 (direction Vlčince); do not confuse it with trolleybus line No. 4, which terminates at the Matice slovenskej stop
- bus line 30, but it does not run often
- you can also travel by line No. 14, which takes 5 minutes longer
3 – Accommodation is arranged individually by each participant. There should be enough beds at Veľký Diel; it has been renovated. It is enough to call or write an email through the reservation system. Veľký Diel Dormitories (GPS coordinates 49.20919, 18.75789), accommodation in the DE-DF block building. Expect a price of around 17 euros or more per person per night. The faculty is about 20 minutes away on foot.
Additional accommodation tips: secondary-school dormitories Hliny V (about 50 minutes on foot). Among the more expensive options is Hotel Kamélia (link).
Public transport tickets can be bought on every bus/trolleybus (but only by payment card). It is cheaper than buying paper tickets at newsstands.
- Railway station -> Veľký Diel Dormitories
- Railway station -> Obchodná (trolleybus line No. 14) recommended
- Railway station -> Obchodná (trolleybus line No. 6)
- Railway station -> Poštová (trolleybus line No. 6), a stop 2 stops before Obchodná; trolleybus 6 goes via Sv. Cyrila a Metoda and then returns to Obchodná. If you plan to use this connection, we recommend getting off here at Poštová
- Railway station -> OC Dubeň (trolleybus line No. 6), does not run often
- Railway station -> Internátna (bus line No. 30), does not run often
- Veľký Diel Dormitories -> Railway station
- Obchodná -> Railway station (trolleybus line No. 4) recommended
- Obchodná -> Railway station (trolleybus line No. 6)
- Internátna -> Railway station (bus line No. 30), does not run often
Tips:
- In public transport, you can pay directly by payment card on the yellow validators.
- Shared BikeKIA bicycles are available in Žilina; the first 15 minutes are free. The next 15 minutes cost €0.25. In 15 minutes you can comfortably get from the centre to the edge of town. For details, please check the current price list https://bikekia.sk/sadzobnik/.
- The nearest station by the railway station is Námestie A. Hlinku or Štefánikovo námestie, where there are usually many bicycles.
- The nearest station by the dormitories is Internáty Veľký diel or Žilpo, where there is usually no bicycle, but sometimes there are a few.
- The nearest station by the Faculty of Management Science and Informatics is FRI, where there is usually no bicycle, but sometimes there are a few.
Conference proceedings
The price of the proceedings depends on the number of contributions. Estimated at 10 to 15 euros.
Entry to the faculty
To enter the building, it is not necessary to show proof of registration or any other document. At the reception desk, it is enough to say that you are going to the OSSConf conference.
Parking
— Parking is available at accommodation facilities (student residences, dormitories, hotels).
— Paid parking is in front of the faculty building on the other side of the road. It is not expensive; we guess at most 1–2 euros per day.
— Free parking is available right next to the faculty building. Write to us in advance and call us on arrival; we will arrange for the barrier to be opened (red area). There are usually enough parking spaces in the yellow area. You then exit through the second (closed) ramp, which opens automatically.
Food
— Refreshments will be provided.
— A microwave oven will be available.
— On the first evening, there will be free goulash and other goodies behind the faculty building — whoever brings what.
— On the second evening, there will be a gathering at U Majera (or at the Kazačok pizzeria); everyone pays for themselves.
— Everyone pays for their own breakfast. The closest places to the event are Tesco, Kaufland, Lidl, and COOP.
— For those interested, we can order goodies in advance from the Czech Herold Bakery; here is the offer.
— Lunches: everyone pays for their own. Participants praised Kazačok. Nearby there is also Garden Pub Rosina. Farther away are the restaurant Vulcano and the renovated Pizza Milano. We are checking the possibility of visiting the canteen in the building or the refectory near the rectorate: participants are members of the public and pay the full lunch price; information is here, the menu is here, and orders can be made through the faculty or directly on site in cash. From the ready-made meals, anything still available can be bought. For meals, people go from FRI to MENZA – Mapy.com, details are here. It is about a 20-minute walk. Campus map:
Note. There is a small buffet in NR. The excursion will be in NF. A detailed map is here.
Tips for families
— MOTIO exhibitions, https://expoinfo.info/, reservation system.
— Krajina vĺn / Land of Waves, https://krajinavln.uniza.sk/.
— Summer swimming pool / Žilina swimming pool, Vysokoškolákov 1765/8, Žilina.
— A hiking trip, for example Straník, 769 m above sea level, above the village of Zástranie near Žilina.
— More at http://www.zilina.net/.
News | Activities | History Log
06. 07. 2026: The 2027 conference has been announced.
Photos by Jakub Ďurajka. Collage by Nika Kvaššayová.
The 2026 edition is successfully behind us! Thank you! In Slovak, more at:
— https://zive.aktuality.sk/clanok/6Df0IJx/otvoreny-softver-a-umela-inteligencia-menia-svet/
— https://brandit.touchit.sk/2026/07/01/otvoreny-softver-a-umela-inteligencia-menia-svet/
— Martina Litschmannová: The first video from the workshop on the R language – installation and an overview of the syntax, https://youtu.be/KK6zb1nbrbc and an article.
— Martina Litschmannová: The second video from the workshop on the R language – data preparation, analysis and visualisation using charts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrvDnVynwPI.
— Ľuboslav Lacko: Training a neural network on book texts, https://youtu.be/tcLdmMJW1OM.
— Richard Fabo: Ako bolo na OSSConf 2026?
— (Temporary) photos by Zdeněk Wagner.
— Photos by Nika Kvaššayová
About OSSConf2026, Programme:source, Programme:parallel, Programme:linear, Invited Speakers, Workshops, Abstracts, For Authors, Conference Proceedings, Committees, Contact Details.
Invited speakers from the 2025 edition. URL
Invited speakers from the 2024 edition. PDF: pages 9–14
Invited speakers from the 2018 edition. PDF: pages 93–97