• Speaker: Dr. Kaylea Champion
• Room: 250
• Time: Saturday, Oct 24th 11:30 – 12:20pm

• Format: Talk (50 minutes)
• Difficulty: Beginner
• Track: Community & Open Source
• Additional Tags: FLOSS, Open Source Research, Software Engineering, Community Management, Evidence-based Practice
• Experience: Assistant Professor in Computing and Software Systems at the University of Washington Bothell, specializing in the cooperation, maintenance, and risks associated with public goods like GNU/Linux and Wikipedia.

This session provides a curated overview of the latest global research on free and open-source software (FLOSS) for 2026. Dr. Kaylea Champion filters thousands of academic papers to distill evidence-based insights on real-world problems, effective engineering and cybersecurity practices, and strategies for building sustainable communities. The talk translates academic findings into actionable tips for individuals and organizations, offering an analysis of the current challenges and successes within the open-source ecosystem through a beginner-friendly lens.

Target Audience:

• Open source contributors and maintainers
• Individuals interested in the academic study of FLOSS
• Organizational leaders seeking evidence-based management practices