A big “hello” to the world of open source. The reason behind writing this blog is to make folks familiar with the importance of open-source contributions. I started my journey during the first year of my college when everything sounded very new to me. But curiosity and enthusiasm always drag you to the world of opportunities. Let’s jump on the topic without not taking much of your time.
What is Open Source ??
Open-source software is something whose source code is freely available to make useful modifications and enhancements according to the user’s knowledge and interest. Folks who end up contributing to these projects are known as Open Source Contributors. Contributing to open source is a good way of gaining experience in real-world projects and development in different domains and you don’t need to be a pro to be a part. As all communities welcome beginners professionals to experts. In this process of contribution, you can brush up on your existing skills, learn new skills, experiment with them, and most important is networking with people and making connections.
“You don’t have to contribute to code” :
Haha yes!!..contributions don’t mean writing code for a project. It includes a lot more things along with writing code. Here is a list of a few contributions apart from writing code.
- Improving documentation or writing tutorials for the project
- Designing and improving the UI/UX
- Finding bugs
- Adding test cases
- Reviewing code and sharing Feedback
- Answering questions for people on open issues
- Adding a new feature
Open Source Programs
Here is a list of a few open-source programs which help students and professionals kickstart their open-source journey. Make sure you are eligible for these programs before applying for them.
- Google Summer Of Code
- Google Season Of Docs
- GirlScript Summer Of Code
- MLH Fellowship
- Outreachy Internships
- Hacktober Fest
- Season of KDE
- Google Summer Of Earth Engine
- Free Software Foundation Internship Program
- Linux Kernel Mentorship Program
- Open Summer Of Code
Along with these programs, a few other open-source programs are conducted by universities like Kharagpur Winter of Code, Script Winter of Code, DevScript Winter of Code, BOSS — Bountiful Open source Summer by Coding Blocks, NJACK Winter Of Code, and much more.
How can I make myself eligible for these programs??
To be a part of these programs, one must fulfill the eligibility criteria mentioned on those program websites. Moving forward maintaining a good technical profile makes you stand out from the crowd. Having a good number of projects and participation in student developer communities adds value. We should never wait for a program to start. If you know a particular tech stack you can start right NOW!! by joining project discussion channels and mailing lists to get familiar with what is happening in the community.
Well, I would like to end with a good note — “ Open source is not about contributing to projects to get a stipend. Instead we should do it with a passion and take software to a better place”. Happy coding :)
