The 2026 Global Edition of the Open Science Retreat will take place on April 7-11, 2026.
Applications are now closed. Participants will be notified whether their application has been accepted on December 22 2025.
There will be a pre-event hackathon on the morning on April 7. See below for further info.
Venue
The venue for this event will be the The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales, UK.
The community at CAT has a long history of thinking about how to instigate radical change in complex environments. We’re looking forward to learning more about the history and future of CAT, and thinking about where the interests of our communities overlap and where we might be able to collaborate.
Over the years, the CAT community has cultivated a wonderful space that offers the perfect setting for us to connect, collaborate, and recharge. Settled in woodlands, the site invites us to step into nature for refreshing walks right from our doors or to work outdoors. CAT has also been a space for innovative and sustainable architecture experimentation for many years, and so the buildings are beautiful and fascinating in equal parts!
Travel
Since 2025 most visitors to the UK (including those who do not require a visa) have been required to apply for an “electronic travel authorisation (ETA)”. For more information see: gov.uk/eta
We encourage people to travel by low-carbon means where possible and will provide further support for people to do so.
Note that Eurostar trains from mainland Europe arrive into King’s Cross St Pancras railway station, whereas trains to Birmingham generally depart from London Euston. There is a ~10 minute walk between the two stations.
When Danny travelled from London to check out the venue they took the train to Machynlleth, changing at Birmingham New Street, and the total journey time was 4 hours. For booking trains in the UK we recommend traintickets.com.
From Machynlleth Railway Station there are two buses (the T2 or the G24) which can take you the final 5 minute drive to CAT. On 7th April the T2 is due to depart at: 1024, 1224, 1424, 1624, 1824, 2024, 2224, and the G24 at 1105 and 1305 (though the schedule should be checked again closer to the time).
If taking the bus, you’d take it to the Pantperthog bus stop, and from there it is a 13 minute walk to the venue (including ~5 minutes up a fairly steep hill at the very end).
Alternatively there are local taxi companies - we have been recommended this one.
If folks need overnight accommodation recommendations in London or Birmingham to break the journey please get in touch. We might be able to help arrange a group booking or accommodation with friends.
Early arrival / late departure
Want to arrive a day early or leave a day later? Get in touch. We’ve provisionally reserved a few rooms for the day before we start (night of the 6th) and the night after we wrap up (night of the 11th) in case folks want to extend their stay.
Visa Applications
Please apply early for visas where required. To check if you need a visa please visit: gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
DRA may be able to provide or arrange some assistance, such as providing invite letters, but please reach out to us as early as possible.
Pre-event Hackathon: Open Research Across Disciplines
Join us for a collaborative hackathon to enhance UKRN’s widely used resource, Open Research Across Disciplines.
Originally launched as a preprint in 2020 and later expanded into discipline-specific web pages, this resource has grown through community contributions and annual updates to integrate these.
Now, it’s time for a more intentional refresh. Together, we’ll review existing content, identify gaps, and curate resources with expert input. Whether you’re passionate about open research or have discipline-specific expertise (or both), your insights can help shape the next evolution of this tool.
The Hackathon will take place on the morning of April 7, while the main retreat begins mid-afternoon that day. For those wanting to take part in the Hackathon, we suggest you arrive the day before (April 6). Thanks to financial support from UKRN we are able to offer early arrival at no additional cost to those taking part in the Hackathon.
Information on how to register for the Hackathon will be provided via email to those whose applications for OSR26UK have already been accepted.
It is possible to attend only the Hackathon and not the full Open Science Retreat. If you would like to apply to join for the Hackathon only, or if you have any other questions, please contact us.
FAQ
What’s the food like?
The menu will be fully vegan for this event, and we should be able to cater for additional dietary needs - there’s a section on this in the registration form.
For further info (and some yummy photos) see CAT’s page on catering.
Is the wifi good?
Yes! We tried to test how fast it was, but the CAT firewall blocks speed testers. It was fast/reliable enough to have a zoom meeting with no issues though.
Is there a space for me to take a work call if I have to?
Yes! We’ll be able to find/make quiet spaces. However, speaking from personal experience - if at all possible it’s great to try and leave the outside world for a few days when attending the event so that you can be as present as possible.
Can I bring my partner, kids etc.?
Please do! We’d love this event to involve family, and we think CAT is a beautiful place for folks to visit and unwind even if they’re not into Open Science.
On our application form you’ll see a section for adding info about accompanying people, but we know that family comes in all shapes and sizes and that we might not have been able to predict everything, so please do get in touch in there’s anything we might be able to do to make this event accessible to your family.
We’re still working out the details, but hopefully in the next couple of weeks we should be able to announce our accompanying people’s program - stay tuned for workshops and activities (and get in touch if you’d like to be part of the process of deciding what that looks like!).
Cancellation Policy
Plans changed? That’s a shame, but it happens! The event has a waiting list, so please let us know as soon as you can if you will no longer be able to attend.
In line with DRA’s general cancellation policy, we can offer a full refund for cancellations made within 14 days of payment. Additionally, for this event, we’re able to offer a 50% refund if requested before March 6.
Other questions?
If you have any questions about the venue or travel, please get in touch.
Sponsors
We’re incredibly grateful to the following organisations for sponsoring this event. Their involvement allows us to make this event more accessible by providing travel stipends and application fee waivers.
Society of Research Software Engineering
“A professional society for Research Software Engineering”
Center for Open Science
“Our mission is to increase openness, integrity, and reproducibility of research”
Software Sustainability Institute
“We help people build better software and more sustainable research software to enable world-class research”
The UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN)
“a national peer-led consortium that aims to ensure the UK retains its place as a centre for world-leading research.”
Your organisation?
Become a sponsor to help us provide travel bursaries and fee waivers for those who require them.
We are also hugely grateful to our collaborating organisations: