Student Guidelines Google Summer Of Code 2007

willebil · Post by **willebil** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:52 pm

- Parts of this guideline are taken from the Joomla! Summer Of Code Mentor Guideline. If you have read this document, you can skip the introduction chapter. The General program schedule is the same as mentioned in the Mentor Guideline description, the dates that are specific for students have been marked in red. More information for students can be found on the Summer Of Code 2007 FAQ from Google and the Google Summer of Code student wiki. Take some time to read the information provided here and in the links to the FAQ and wiki!
  
  1. Introduction
  Google Summer of Code is a program that offers student developers stipends to write code for various open source projects. Google works with several open source, free software and technology-related groups to identify and fund several projects over a three month-period. Historically, the program has brought together over 1,000 students with over 100 open source projects to create hundreds of thousands of lines of code. The program, which kicked off in 2005 , is now in its third year, following on from a very successful 2006.
  
  This document describes the student guidelines for the Joomla! Summer Of Code program 2007. It contains information about the program schedule, program goals, program organisation, the student (and project) selection process, conflict resolution/problem solving resolutions, what to expect (and what do we expect), format of project proposal and of course communications and tooling.
  
  2. General program schedule
  - Week of February 12th: Announcement that Google will fund GSoC 2007
  - March 5: Mentoring organizations can begin submitting applications to Google
  - March 12: Mentoring organization application deadline
  - March 13: Google program administrators review organization applications
  - March 14: List of accepted mentoring organizations published on code.google.com;student application period opens
  - March 23: Student application deadline
  - Interim Period: Mentoring organizations review and rank student proposals; where necessary, mentoring organizations may request further proposal detail from the student applicant
  - April 2: List of accepted student applications published on code.google.com
  - Interim Period: Students learn more about/integrate with their project communities
  - May 28: Students begin coding for their Google Summer of Code projects; Google begins issuing initial student payments
  - Interim Period: Mentors give students a helping hand and guidance on their projects
  - July 9: Students upload code to the Google Summer of Code project repository; mentors begin mid-term evaluations
  - July 16: Mid-term evaluation deadline; Google begins issuing mid-term student payments
  - August 20: Students upload code to the Google Summer of Code project repository; mentors begin final evaluations; students begin final program evaluations
  - August 31: Final evaluation deadline; Google begins issuing student and mentoring organization payments
  Remember: This schedule is subject to change, latest and correct schedule can be found on the Google SOC 2007 Wiki
  
  3. Joomla! Summer Of Code
  
  Program Goals
  The general goals of Google are recognized and extended with our own goals. In short, we want to improve the innovation within the project by offering students the opportunity to propose (research) topics that are Joomla! related. The Joomla! project offers students an inspiring environment to do research, create proof-of-concepts or create working functionality. The students get well guided by field experts. We not specifically target at implementing work in the Joomla! framework, if it can be done in the Summer Of Code period this is perfectly ok, if not we still have well founded research and possible new talents for the working groups within the Joomla! project.
  
  There is a non-limited list of program goals defined in the mentor guideline description. Please bare in mind that this is an initial list of subjects we like to aim at, and in basic the final program content is open for discussion. A student can send in their project proposal from March 23 - April 1 using the Google application. Remember, this only can be done when the Joomla! project is accepted by Google, and the application is opened up. In the mean while you can discuss possible project proposals in the forum area.
  
  Specific notes:
  - We don't want to put to much rules in place, but we ask every student to follow the proposal guidelines described below. This proposal guideline is put together based upon our experiences from last year. Check chapter 4 for a more detailed explanation.
  - If you think you have a great idea, just go for it(!) and write your proposal, don't let the initial project ideas hold you back on proposing your ideas!
  Program organization
  We strive for a shallow hierarchy for the Joomla! project and the Summer Of Code program is no exception to that. There will be a formal program structure in place, but in general we like everyone to just do their job. For the mentors this means a big responsibility towards the Joomla! project and especially the students.
  
  The total organization of the program will be done by the program leaders, one as main program leader (Wilco Jansen) and a second program leader (Louis Landry) to offer continuity when one of the two leaders is absent or on leave. The program team is completed with the team of mentors. For each accepted project there will be at least one mentor, depending on the subject there is no limit to the amount of mentors but we would like to limit to a maximum of two, else it is not clear to the student who is guiding him/her in the project realisation.
  
  Student selection proces
  The basic process of student selection is pretty straight forward. All project proposals will be judged and ranked by the group of mentors. We have not set a limit to the number of projects we want to run this year (in 2006 we had a limit of 6 projects), this depends on the final ranking and of course the fact if we can offer enough mentor guidance.
  
  Something about improving the chance to be selected. The better you have defined your project proposal, the higher the chance is that your project will be selected. A well defined project proposal leaves less questions to the mentors.
  
  We also advise potential students to study the student Advice on the Google wiki, and especially take notes on the described lessons learned, especially a well defined target and a proper planning are essential to have a successful project!
  Conflict resolution and problem solving
  
  It would be naive to assume that a group of people can work together in perfect harmony. There are going to be times when someone feels they have been wronged. In these times the following procedure should apply:
  - Talk privately to the person concerned.
  - If you still believe grievances exists, then bring in one or two other people to help mediate.
  - If this fails then take the issue to the program manager (Wilco Jansen or Louis Landry).
  - If this fails take the issue with the program manager to the Joomla! project leader.
  Team members are encouraged to self-mediate all disputes. In all situations, treat 'wounds' appropriately. A prick on the finger just needs a tissue for a couple of seconds. Some grazes and cut just need a Band-Aid to help heal well but will probably heal anyway if left untouched. More serious lacerations need immediate intervention for survival. If a wound is left to attract an infection then the obvious threat of gangrene is present.
  
  The need to communicate, use several tools you (maybe) never used, the differences in cultures, times etc. can be very intimidating. The first person to guide you is your mentor. A personal difference on how to proceed between you and your mentor can happen, and the program management is always open to offer coaching and guidance, but if possible we would like everyone to use the conflict resolution strategy as described above.
  
  What to expect, and what do we expect from you?
  What we expect is simple. Dedication, devotion, an open mind and for all patience. You are part of this program to actually learn (and earn) something. Before you start we expect you to get acquainted with the tools we use: get prepared! Most important lesson from the Summer of Code 2006 was the amount of time you need to spend to the project as a student. Doing a project in three months requires an estimate of 20-40 hours per week, threat it as a full-time job and be prepared when you start.
  
  If you join as a student, what do you get in return? You can work in an open-source environment, meet great and inspiring people in a great open source project and most important you get guided by a field expert. It is all about sharing knowledge and working together toward common goals. We will be there to support you!
  
  4. What do we expect from you proposal?
  As we explained, we don use a specific format, but want the proposal to contain at least:
  - A short introduction of you, name, age, kind of study you are doing, personal interests etc.
  - A short description of your personal skills.
  - Project definition in terms of goals to achieve.
  - Project planning, including milestones to deliver. This is a very important aspect of your proposal. Recent Summer Of Code has learned us that project proposals tend to be ambitious. Make a planning, and try to determine if the goals you set are realistic. Ask help in the forum, or contact program lead directly if you need help.
  - Description of tools you are going to use. Also take a look at the tools we use in our project, most of them will be used very often.
  - What do you want to learn in the Summer Of Code?