8-Bit Lab Engineering

Students

8-Bit Lab Engineering — Open Source Student Programme

Contribute to Open Source

Gain Real Engineering Experience — Free, Remote, Mentored

Join our 3-month open source engineering projects. Work alongside experienced engineers on real hardware and software products. Build your portfolio, learn industry tools, and get a reference letter — all for free.

Applications Open

Why Join?

We believe talented students deserve real-world experience — not just theory. Here is what you get.

Real Projects

Work on production-quality open source projects like Fork Flow (C# WinForms team tool) and SafeStep (nRF52840 BLE wearable). Your code ships to real users.

Mentorship

Every student is paired with a senior engineer who reviews code, answers questions, and guides your learning. Weekly check-ins and async support via our team chat.

Portfolio & Reference

All work is public on GitHub under your name. After completing the programme, you receive a personalised reference letter from 8-Bit Lab Engineering.

Flexible & Remote

Work from anywhere. We only ask for 8-12 hours per week over 3 months. Async-first communication — fits any time zone or university schedule.

Industry Tools

Learn Git, GitHub, Firebase, C#, embedded C, Jira, PCB design workflows, and more. The same tools used in professional engineering teams across Europe.

Community

Join a global team of engineers and students from Germany, Macedonia, Romania, India, and beyond. Collaborate, learn, and grow together.

Current Open Source Projects

These are the projects you can contribute to. New projects are added throughout the year.

Fork Flow — Team Productivity Suite

C# · WinForms · Firebase · .NET 4.7.2

All-in-one desktop tool for small teams: time tracking, team chat, sticker board, file sharing, wiki, Pomodoro timer, Jira integration, standup generator, and PDF reports.

Skills neededC#, WinForms, Firebase REST API, Git
DifficultyBeginner – Intermediate
StatusActive — Ready for contributors

SafeStep — BLE Wander Alert System

nRF52840 · BLE 5.0 · Embedded C · PCB Design

Protecting people with dementia — quietly, reliably, openly. A lightweight BLE wristband + USB dongle system that alerts caregivers when a patient wanders out of range.

Skills neededEmbedded C, BLE protocols, PCB layout, nRF SDK
DifficultyIntermediate – Advanced
StatusPlanning Phase — Contributors welcome

How It Works

From application to completion in 4 simple steps.

1
Apply — Send us a short email with your name, university, skills, and which project interests you. No CV required — just tell us about yourself.
2
Get Matched — We run a few projects per year. Once a project starts, we match you with a mentor and a team. You will be notified as soon as the next round begins.
3
Contribute — Work on real issues, submit pull requests, participate in code reviews, and collaborate with the team. 8-12 hours per week for 3 months.
4
Graduate — Receive your reference letter, keep your GitHub contributions, and stay connected with the 8-Bit Lab community for future opportunities.

Projects Run a Few Times per Year

We carefully select and plan each project round to ensure quality mentorship. When you apply, you will be added to our waiting list and notified by email as soon as the next project starts. No application is wasted — we review every single one.

Who Can Apply?

University Students

Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or related fields. Any year of study — Bachelor or Master.

Self-Taught Developers

No formal degree required. If you can write code and want to learn embedded or desktop development, you are welcome.

Career Changers

Switching into tech? Open source contributions are the best way to build a credible portfolio. We will help you get there.

Ready to Build Something Real?

Send us a short email. Tell us your name, your background, and which project excites you. We will get back to you.

A programme by 8-Bit Lab Engineering