Join Big Stuff 2025 in Ghent: skills and machines – a living partnership

October 14–17, 2025 | Ghent, Belgium + Hybrid Access Worldwide
bigstuff2025.info

Registration for Big Stuff 2025 is now open

Registrations for the International Big Stuff Conference are now officially open! The conference will take place from October 14th to 17th, 2025, at the Museum of Industry in the historic and vibrant city of Ghent, Belgium. This triennial gathering brings together a global network of professionals, academics, and dedicated volunteers who are passionate about large-scale technical heritage, from early industrial machinery to modern space-age technology. You can now register for the conference and connect with the vibrant Big Stuff Heritage community.

Skills and machines: the conference theme

As the conference theme is Skills and machines – a living partnership, this year’s program not only offers inspiring lectures and discussions but also includes excursions to Belgium’s rich industrial heritage sites where you can experience big stuff at work. In this way, Big Stuff 2025 goes beyond a traditional academic conference, offering a space for cross-disciplinary dialogue, innovation, and collaboration.

This edition focuses on a current and urgent theme: the safeguarding of endangered technical skills. Industrial heritage is not only about the machines themselves, but also about the people who designed, built, operated, and maintained them. As skilled workers retire and fewer young people receive mechanical training, the transmission of practical knowledge is currently at risk, threatening our ability to preserve, interpret, and build upon the technologies of the past. This is
why this edition of Big Stuff raises pressing, real-world questions:

  • How can we preserve and transmit technical skills in a world increasingly dominated by automation and digital tools?
  • In what ways can traditional know-how contribute to sustainability, circular economy initiatives, and education?
  • Can industrial heritage serve as a bridge between historic pride and today’s ecological and social responsibilities?

The program: a range of voices and excursions

Over four immersive days, Big Stuff 2025 will explore these challenges through engaging presentations, globally connected discussions, and hands-on skill demonstrations. Ghent’s Museum of Industry, a former textile factory, has a vast tradition of organizing workshops to pass on skills and creating maker spaces within its walls, making it the perfect home base for four days of exchange, learning, and exploration. From the conference dinner in the former factory hall, guided tours by the museum’s staff and live demonstrations at the textile and printing floor during the ‘Night at the Museum,’ participants will definitely be immersed in this location’s context and traditions.

The conference starts with a keynote by Professor Rodney Harrison. His address will explore how industrial heritage and the transmission of technical skills intersect with broader societal issues such as health, sustainability, and education, setting the tone for a conference that is both academically rigorous and practically grounded.

Furthermore, each morning, the speaker program will offer multi-voiced contributions. By programming world-renowned museum professionals and academics alongside grassroots practitioners and community-led initiatives, the conference aims to foster meaningful dialogue across sectors and across the globe.

Each afternoon, participants will step beyond the lecture hall to visit some of Belgium’s most compelling industrial heritage sites, from community-run museums to innovative volunteer-powered workshops. Ranging from visiting a steam train center or a brick factory run by volunteers, to discovering the war heritage in Ostend and the maritime legacy of Antwerp, to exploring a 19th-century cardboard factory and its surroundings, these guided field trips will allow attendees to engage directly with heritage in context. This way, there will be ample opportunity for deep exchange, showcasing how local efforts reflect and inform global debates.

Three ways to take part in the conference

To ensure access and inclusivity, Big Stuff 2025 is not only a physical meeting in Ghent but also offers a hybrid format for online-only participants, with livestreamed sessions, online discussions, and interactive digital content. Participants in the Southern Hemisphere can join the satellite hub in Perth, Australia, where concurrent events are hosted, facilitating meaningful North-South dialogue and enabling broader participation while minimizing the environmental impact of intercontinental travel.

Big Stuff 2025 is not only a call to gather; it is a call to action, forging pathways toward more resilient and sustainable futures for technical heritage. Whether you’re a conservator, curator, technician, researcher, educator, engineer, policymaker, or volunteer, your expertise and perspective are vital in shaping the future of our shared industrial legacy. Join us in Ghent or Perth—or connect online—and contribute to a growing international movement that ensures
‘big stuff’ continues to matter in a rapidly changing world.

Learn more about the different hubs, explore the full program, or register now at www.bigstuff2025.info.