Google Summer of Code 2022 Call for Project Ideas and Mentors

Published on 2022-01-07 by Alyssa Tong, Jean-Marc Meessen

Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is a global, online mentoring program focused on introducing new contributors to open source software development. GSoC contributors work on a 12+ week programming project with the guidance of mentors from their open source organization. During GSoC, participating contributors are paired with mentors from open source organizations, gaining exposure to real-world software development techniques. GSoC contributors will learn from experienced open source developers while writing code for real-world projects! A small stipend is provided as an incentive.

See GSoC contributor eligibility here.

We are looking for project ideas and mentors to participate in GSoC 2022. GSoC project ideas are coding projects that potential GSoC contributors can accomplish in about 12+ weeks. The coding projects can be new features, plugins, test frameworks, infrastructure, etc. Anyone can submit a project idea, but of course we like it even better if you mentor your project idea.

Please send us your project ideas before the beginning of February so they can get a proper review by the GSoC committee and by the community.

How to submit a project idea

Create a pull-request with your idea in a .adoc file in the project ideas. It is not necessary to submit a Google Doc, but it will still work if you want to do that. See the instructions on submitting ideas which include an .adoc template and some examples.

Current list of ideas

Below is a current list of proposed project ideas for GSoC contributors to review. Note that this list is still evolving and is subject to change. A final list along with project details and descriptions is coming soon.

  • Jenkinsfile Runner Action for GitHub Actions (Mentors: Oleg Nenashev, Kris Stern)

  • Automatic Specification Generator for Jenkins REST API (Mentors: Kristin Whetstone)*

  • Plugin Health Scoring System - How Should it Work (Mentors: Mark Waite, Adrien Lecharpentier)

  • Configuration as Code Drift Detector (Mentors: Jean-Marc Meessen)*

  • Plugin Installation Manager Tool Improvements (Need new mentors)*

  • Doc Generator (Mentor: Mark Waite)*

  • Automatic Git Cache Maintenance on the Controller (Mentor: Mark Waite)*

  • Improving Cloud Events plugin and aligning it with the emerging CD Events Standard (Mentor: Oleg Nenashev)*

  • Jenkins and OpenTelemetry (Mentor: Oleg Nenashev)*

  • Jenkinsfile executor service for Keptn (powered by Jenkinsfile Runner) (Mentor: Oleg Nenashev)*

(*) additional mentor(s) needed

What does mentoring involve?

Potential mentors are invited to read the information for mentors. Note that being a GSoC mentor does not require expert knowledge of Jenkins. Mentors do not work alone. We make sure that every project has at least two mentors. GSoC org admins will help to find technical advisers, so you can study together with your GSoC contributor. Mentoring takes about 5 to 8 hours of work per week (more at the start, less at the end). Mentors provide guidance, coaching, and sometimes a bit of cheerleading. They review GSoC contributor proposals, pull-requests and contributor presentations at the evaluation phase. They fill in the Google provided final evaluations at the end of the coding period.

What do you get in exchange?

Mentor interaction is a vital part of GSoC. In return for mentoring, a GSoC contributor works on your project full time for 12+ weeks. Think about the projects that you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time… Mentoring is also an opportunity to improve your management and people skills, while giving back to the community. GSoC is a fantastic program and the Jenkins project is happy to participate in GSoC again in 2022!

For any question, you can find the GSoC Org Admins, mentors and participants on the GSoC SIG Gitter chat.

About the Authors
Alyssa Tong

Member of the Jenkins Advocacy and Outreach SIG. Alyssa drives and manages Jenkins participation in community events and conferences like FOSDEM, SCaLE, cdCON, and KubeCon. She is also responsible for Marketing & Community Programs at CloudBees, Inc.
Jean-Marc Meessen

A perpetual and enthusiastic learner, admirative of all the cool stuff out there. Loves to share his discoveries and passions.
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