It's That Time Again: KDE and GNOME Invite Students (and Mentors) to GSoC 2009

Google's Summer of Code (SoC) Program has united students interested in open source with projects and mentors for several years now. The intiative's goal is to foster interest in open source software while exposing students to "real-world" software development processes. It's easy to see, based on how enthusiastically some projects embrace the annual event, that the students aren't the only ones who benefit from the program.

This week, both KDE and GNOME announced that development teams under their respective umbrellas wishing to submit project ideas and mentor students this summer were able to do so.

This also means interested students can get a sneak peek at potential projects and mentors. The list of projects (and mentors) won't be finalized until mid-March, but seeing as students only have two weeks to submit their applications, an advance "project screening" might prove helpful.

Students wishing to work on KDE-based projects are encouraged to read through the participation guidelines (the 2009 participation wiki entry links to the 2008 requirements). Both students and interested mentors are encouraged to look through this summer's idea proposals.

GNOME's SoC page directs mentors and students to the current list of proposed projects (again, this list is expected to grow in the coming month). Students are invited to take a look at GNOME's participation guidelines.

Both projects encourage interested students (and mentors) to explore Google's SoC wiki and check both the SoC home page and Google's Open Source blog for updates.