On the weekend of March 28 and 29, students from our faculty made their way to Chemnitz to immerse themselves in the world of open source software. The journey began on Saturday morning with a train ride that took us from Görlitz via Chemnitz Central Station directly to the Chemnitz University of Technology event site.

The conference offered an impressive program under this year's main theme of "Digital Sovereignty": In seven lecture halls running in parallel, participants were able to choose from a wide range of presentations. While the focus on Saturday was on topics such as the use of open source in schools and universities (using the example of "openDesk") or independent software solutions for association management, the large entrance hall formed the heart of the exchange on both days. Between the numerous stands of companies, organizations such as the Chaos Computer Club and various open source projects, there was plenty of room for expert discussions and new contacts.

The student union canteen provided the necessary refreshments in between, giving us the perfect opportunity to have lunch together and exchange impressions. Finally, we ended the Saturday with a dinner together in the city center to review the experiences of the day in a relaxed atmosphere.

After spending the night in the hotel, Sunday started for all participants directly on the exhibition grounds. The lecture program on the second day deepened the range of content even further: from training your own AI models (for example for bird detection in the garden) to self-hosting emails and data sovereignty in the smart home, there was something for every interest.

At the end of an instructive weekend, the students gradually made their way home on Sunday afternoon. Those who savored the full program to the end used Sunday evening for a return train ride together.

For those who missed the trip or would like to revisit certain topics: Many of the presentations were recorded and are available as videos on the Chemnitzer Linux-Tage website.