Summer of Code
The Eclipse SOC project is a great place to spend time learning, coding, participating and contributing. The project does not host specific resources for learning; it is mainly concerned with being a meeting place for students who are interested in working on or with Eclipse technology and need a little help through the process. We provide a vehicle to connect student activity with one or more mentors to assist you.
The program is administered by Philippe Ombredanne (philippe dot ombredanne at eclipse dot org) and Wayne Beaton (wayne dot beaton at eclipse dot org).
The name of this project, "Summer of Code" was inspired by the "Google Summer of Code™" (GSoC) programme, and this project actively participates in that programme. We do not, however, restrict ourselves to projects initiated as part of GSoC, nor do we time box activities undertaken as part of this project with in the constraints specified by Google (that is, it's okay for activities to continue after the initial GSoC experience has been completed).
Application
Eclipse is an exciting open source project with a vibrant community, and we look forward to your ideas.
At a minimum, you should be a student (though we're not particularly hung up on this point). You need to demonstrate to us that you have the time and ability to complete the work (you represent considerable investment on the part of our mentors and so need to prove that you are worth the investment). This is not to say that you need to be fully knowledgeable about all things Eclipse; we expect to spend time educating you on Eclipse technology.
Participation in Eclipse SOC is typically done through the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) programme. If you are applying though GSoC, you will have to use the system provided by Google to enter your project proposal (we expect that the system will be ready for the 2009 season at the end of March). Your proposal must describe the project that you'd like to work on along with a brief description of your background and qualifications. We do recommend that you also post your project proposal (excluding your personal information) on the Eclipse SOC mailing list, soc-dev, so that a wider audience within the Eclipse Community will get a chance to see it, thereby improving your chances of attracting a mentor for your project. We recommend that you do this, but do not require it.
We do accept project proposals from outside of the GSoC programme. If you just want a mentor to help you with your project, please apply directly to us through the Eclipse SOC mailing list, soc-dev. Note that the Eclipse Foundation does not directly fund these activities; if you're looking for funding, you'll have to apply through the GSoC programme.
Your proposal should include enough information so that we can understand what you want to do and enough information about you so that we can get a sense for your ability to complete it. We expect the proposal to be several paragraphs in length at least; well-thought out proposals are more likely to be accepted.
If you want to increase your chances of finding a mentor, consider selecting a project idea from the Google Summer of Code 2009 Ideas Wiki page. The ideas listed on this page are just that: ideas. Don't feel constrained to them; feel free to use these ideas to come up with better ideas of your own. If you like one of the ideas but require more information, discuss the idea using one of the communication channels below. Be sure to elaborate on the idea in your proposal.
Your proposal needs to be more than just a resumé. It must include a project idea, description, and plan for execution.
What do Mentors Expect?
It's kind of hard to say what the mentors expect of the students as it's often dependent on the mentor and the project in question. However, we can say that the mentors do expect that the student is pretty much working full-time on the project. Working only on the weekday evenings and the weekends will generally not cut it. Students should certainly not underestimate the amount of time that will be required to complete the project. When drafting up your proposal, including a time-line of some sorts is generally a good indication that you've thought about the project and the required path to complete it for more than ten minutes.
Naturally, the mentors are not unreasonable. Many of us have done this enough times to gauge whether the project seems too short or seems to large and we will likely comment on your proposal about this so that the scope can be narrowed or broadened appropriately.
Communication
The official Eclipse SOC IRC channel is #eclipse-soc located on freenode.net. Everyone is welcome as it is not restricted to students and mentors.
We also use the soc-dev mailing list. Please subscribe if you are interested in monitoring and participating in conversations between mentors and students. Note that all communication via the mailing list is archived.
