GSoC Organization Application Info Session January 11th 1700 UTC

[sttaylor]

Happy New Year!

We are very excited to get started on this 20th year of Google Summer of Code!  With Organization applications opening in a few weeks, January 22 - February 6, we wanted to host an information session for organizations looking to apply to GSoC as well as for new org admins for veteran orgs so they understand the application process.

Date: Thursday, January 11

Time: 17:00 - 17:45 UTC

Meet Link: meet.google.com/ogc-drzu-prz

GSoC Program Lead, Stephanie Taylor will go through the org application process and discuss the tips to a solid organization application as well as some of the other things to consider when applying as a GSoC organization.

There will be plenty of time for Q&A as well for the last half of the session.

Some quick tips for everyone to consider when submitting an Organization application for Google Summer of Code:

1. Starting in 2024 we will have small (~90 hour projects), medium (~175 hr projects) and large (~350 hour) projects available to GSoC contributors. Orgs should have medium and large projects available in their Project Ideas lists. Small project ideas are not required for orgs, but if the smaller size project works for your org they should  be included in your Organization’s Ideas List.

2. Reach out to your community members now to ask if they would like to be mentors for the program. 

Having a thorough and well thought out list of Project Ideas is the most important part of your application.

You can check out the GSoC Org Application Short Answer Questions if you’d like to start preparing your responses in advance so you can copy over your answers once the org applications open January 22 at g.co/gsoc.

Please encourage other open source orgs to apply -- if you know of other open source projects that may be interested in applying to GSoC as a first time org please remind them to check out the available resources below and have them put your org (or you) down as a reference when they apply.

We are also looking to add more AI/ML open source organizations in 2024 as GSoC mentoring orgs, so please spread the word to your colleagues.

Open source projects can apply to be mentoring organizations from January 22 - February 6 at 1800 UTC.

Resources:

Mentor Guide

Timeline

FAQs

Roles and Responsibilities

Marketing Materials (slide deck, flyers)

Videos

Best,

Stephanie Taylor

GSoC Program Lead

[sttaylor]

Thanks to the folks that attended today's talk with so many great questions!

Here is the slide deck: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YTOJEJwGjAWW4DKEuK2xWf36y8EIkauUZMZu8k68E74/edit?usp=sharing

Remember Organization applications are open Jan 22 - Feb 6 at 1800 UTC at g.co/gsoc

Some additional things to keep in mind that came up in our Q&A today.

1. Be sure that if your org has AI/ML projects that you select the AI/ML Category as one of your category selections when completing your Org Profile. 

2. Don't have an overwhelming number of project ideas (like 15-20),  if you plan to only accept 3 GSoC contributors based on your mentor availability. But a minimum of 4 project ideas is required even if you plan to only accept 1 GSoC contributor.

3. Adding links to related bugs, manuals or discussions related to the project idea can be very helpful if you have it available.

4. There is nothing wrong with reducing the number of contributors your org asks for. For example, if you have accepted 6 people for the last few years but only have mentors available for 3 this year that is fine, Google doesn't see that as anything negative. Mentor availability can fluctuate and maybe you don't need GSoC as much anymore, that is totally fine. :)

5. Projects should be weary of proposals that may seem too amazing. More GSoC contributors are likely to use AI extensively when writing their proposals this year. It makes it even more VITAL to be sure to talk with the potential contributor and never select a GSoC contributor based solely on their proposal.

6. There is only 1 new change to the GSoC 2024 program from 2023 - the addition of the small (~90 hour) projects.

We're looking forward to another great GSoC to celebrate our 20th "platinum" year!

Please email us at gsoc-s...@google.com if you have any questions.

Best,

Stephanie