Hi, All. A few thoughts:
> > - Regarding GSoC 2020 (and past iterations if you like) > - What did we do well? > - What can we do better? > - What are ways we can improve? > > Although there was a lot of time required for the community bonding and application period, I was very pleased with the candidate we finally found for the project I worked on. If I had to focus on any area for us to improve, it would be in improving the pipeline of candidates, and the way in which they interact with the community, with a focus on finding engaged candidates quickly, and without disrupting the community too much. As a lot of you have discussed, the rush of GSoC candidates is disruptive to the community's normal work. I think we need to move at least some of the interactions with GSoC students out of #fluid-work and #fluid-tech, perhaps to a new #fluid-howto or #fluid-getting-started where the channel can be focused on learning Infusion and the community practices. We might also want a channel just for discussions of the proposals and the mechanics of the GSoC application process. We could also flip that and take more project-related practical discussions out of #fluid-work, leaving that as a more general space for learning (and identifying issues with) Infusion. Candidates who manage to engage can transition to taking on tasks and communicating in #fluid-work or other more central channels. I like the idea about focused onboarding activities, one idea would be to take them through one or two tutorials, and perhaps take them through submitting updates for issues they encounter. I was also thinking of reducing the work for mentors by publishing office hours where the GSoC channels are monitored more closely, perhaps in a rota so that not every mentor has to monitor the list all the time. Other mentors can be brought in by @ mention as needed. I also think we need to be much firmer about the application process. At least for my project there were far too many late and lower quality applications. It would be better for candidates and mentors if we had our own parallel requirements such as: 1. Suggesting that they should have gone through the Infusion tutorials by X point. 2. Suggesting that they should have taken on a sample issue or submitted a work sample by Y point. 3. Suggesting that they submit a draft of their proposal a week or two earlier than the Google deadlines if they expect our feedback. Within the rules of GSoC, we need to get good at letting people who don't meet our requirements know that they're probably better off trying again next year rather than rushing to figure it all out in the last few days. > - Regarding GSoC 2021 > - What are your thoughts on the changes? > - Does GSoC meet our needs and goals, and are we using it in a way > that aligns with their goals? > > I got an awful lot out of working on GSoC this year, and that's set the bar fairly high for me in the future. The candidate I selected was the only one who successfully engaged with Infusion during the bonding period, and even then it was a challenge to finish in time. I think the shorter working period would require us to only accept candidates who successfully demonstrate that they've already made their way through most of the required learning curves. One way to do this would be to have challenges or starter issues available, perhaps specific to the skills required for the project. Another approach would be to screen by experience and work primarily with third and fourth year undergrads, master's and PhD students. Another would be to actively recruit previous candidates for a second summer with us. I think we should meet well in advance of the next GSoC to discuss what we hope to get out of it and who wants to do what. Given the extreme difficulty finding a synchronous meeting time, I'd suggest at least a temporary mentors room for that. Cheers, Tony On Tue, 27 Oct 2020 at 15:23, Justin Obara <obara.jus...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi everyone, > > As you probably know we participated in GSoC > <https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com> 2020 this year. Despite the > pandemic the students and mentors were able to complete the projects. I > applaud them all for their hard work and persistence. > > > - Gamepad Navigator <https://github.com/fluid-lab/gamepad-navigator> > - fluidic-11ty <https://github.com/fluid-project/fluidic-11ty> > > > GSoC just publicly announced GSoC 2021 > <https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/how-it-works/> with some major > updates, so it seems like a good time to reflect back on our experience > this year and think forward to the changes coming. > > For GSoC 2021 they are making changes to “...help meet the #1 goal of GSoC > - bring new, diverse contributors into your communities that stay in your > communities after their GSoC program ends.” > > > - Smaller project sizes - shortened from 350hr to 175hr > - Shorted coding period - down to 10 weeks from 12, but with more > flexibility for how the mentors and students would like to spread the work > out over that time period > - Reduced number of evaluations - 2 instead of 3 > - Expanded eligibility requirements - open those 18 years and older > who are currently enrolled or accepted to a post secondary program as of > May 17, 2021 or graduated from a post-secondary academic program between > Dec 1, 2020 and May 17, 2021. This not only includes accredited university > programs but also licensed code camps, community colleges, and more. > > > I’d like to seed the conversation with a few discussion points below, but > feel free to talk about other things. > > > - Regarding GSoC 2020 (and past iterations if you like) > - What did we do well? > - What can we do better? > - What are ways we can improve? > - Regarding GSoC 2021 > - What are your thoughts on the changes? > - Does GSoC meet our needs and goals, and are we using it in a way > that aligns with their goals? > > > Thanks > Justin > > _______________________________________________________ > fluid-work mailing list - fluid-work@lists.idrc.ocad.ca > To unsubscribe, change settings or access archives, > see https://lists.idrc.ocad.ca/mailman/listinfo/fluid-work
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