Welcome to the GSoC Knowledge Base Wiki

Purpose of this Wiki

We started this wiki to provide helpful advice to prospective and accepted Google Summer of Code^TM mentors and students. Most of the content here has been created by mentors and students, with Google's program administrators also contributing to the wiki based on feedback we've received throughout the program's history.

Remember, this wiki is meant to provide guidance only. What works well for one project may not work well for another, and each student's approach to the program will be unique. Further, each mentoring organization will need to create its own guidelines for participating in the program. We hope the information provided on this wiki will be a useful starting point for drafting these guidelines, and we welcome your feedback about additional information that could be helpful.

The wiki is a work in progress, so if you see any sections marked "TODO" they will be gradually updated. If you have suggestions for text for these sections, make sure to let us know.

Useful Links

• Google Summer of Code Program Page
• Google Summer of Code related posts on the Google Open Source Blog
• Google Summer of Code Podcast
• Google Summer of Code Logos

Also check out information on program flyers and videos, below.

Help Wanted

We'd love to have your help in spreading the word about Google Summer of Code. Check out our Program Flyers page and post some around your campus, local coffee shop and any other place the geeky gather. We can also use help in translating the flyer.

Media

If you would like to give a presentation on Google Summer of Code, check out the program presentations page for presentation templates. Feel free to modify the slides to suit your needs. If you give a presentation, please make sure to tell us about it.

Localized Information

You can find a list of resources for learning about the program, translated into a variety of languages, on the Localized Resources wiki page.

Videos

Check out these informational videos, in a variety of languages, created by the community for the community.

Information on Past Years

Check out the program statistics page for an overview of # of participants, etc., for each year.

For GSoC 2008, we published all of our updates on the Google Open Source Blog. You can check out all GSoC related content from 2008 there.

For GSoC 2007, we had a Google Summer of Code program blog. You can read there about several of the highlights of the 2007 program.

If you're looking for more data on GSoC for 2006, check out the slides from Chris DiBona's presentation at OSCON 2006. You can also check out several posts about the results of 2006 program on the Google Code Blog.

Advice for Mentors

Wondering how to choose the best applicants for your project? How to deal with a student reticent to post questions to the project-wide mailing list? How to keep your project's students engaged with the community long past the program's conclusion?

Check out the AdviceforMentors page.

Advice for Students

Not sure how to choose the best mentoring organization for yourself? How to write an effective application? How to approach dealing with your (perhaps super-famous) mentor?

Check out the AdviceforStudents page.

More Help

Interested in another perspective? Have other topics you'd like to discuss? We've created two public and two private mailing lists, one for all program mentors and one for students. See the Project Home Page for a full list of all program mailing lists.

The purpose of the private lists is to give all program participants a place to communicate and seek advice from peers about any issues that may arise during the course of the program. They are purposely closed so that this peer communication remains private and no one posting to these lists has to be concerned that any questions or discussions harm the relationship between mentor and student. These two private mailing lists will open once student applications are accepted.

The Program Announcement mailing list and Discussion list will remain open throughout the course of Google Summer of Code.

Knowledge Base Team

Many thanks from the GSoC program administration team to the Google Summer of Code^TM community members who have shared their experiences in the program.

If you'd like to learn more about the team populating the knowledge base, check out the KbTeamBios.