Applying to SIDE-Labs SUmmer of Models & cOde

How does a mentoring organization apply?

The organization should choose a single administrator to submit its application via the SUMO 2010 site between May 24 - June 07, 2010.

What should a mentoring organization application look like?

In addition to anything else your organization would like to submit as an application, SIDE-Labs will be asking (at least) the following questions as part of the application process:

1. Describe your organization.
2. Why is your organization applying to participate in SUMO 2010? What do you hope to gain by participating?
3. What license(s) does your project use?
4. What is the URL for your ideas page?
5. What is the main development mailing list for your organization?
6. What is the main IRC channel for your organization?
7. Does your organization have an application template you would like to see students use? If so, please provide it now.
8. Who will be your backup organization administrator?
9. What criteria did you use to select these individuals as mentors? Please be as specific as possible.
10. What is your plan for dealing with disappearing students?
11. What is your plan for dealing with disappearing mentors?
12. What steps will you take to encourage students to interact with your project's community before, during and after the program?
13. What will you do to ensure that your accepted students stick with the project after SUMO concludes?

A few notes on the mentoring organization application:

• If you take a look at the program timeline, we've left about two weeks for students to get to know you before submitting their applications. It is critical that it be obvious how students should reach you to discuss applying to your organization; plan to link this information from your "Ideas" list at the very least.
• The email addresses associated with the SIDE-Labs Account information provided during application process will be used as the primary mode of contact by SIDE-Labs throughout the program, e.g. the email address which we will use to subscribe you to the SUMO mentors/admins-only mailing list.

What is an "Ideas" list?

An "Ideas" list should be a list of suggested student projects. This list is meant to introduce contributors to your project's needs and to provide inspiration to would-be student applicants. It is useful to classify each idea as specifically as possible, e.g. "must know PLM or Python" or "easier project; good for a student with more limited experience with HCM." If your organization plans to provide an application template, it would be good to include it on your Ideas list.

Keep in mind that your Ideas list should be a starting point for student applications; we've heard from past mentoring organization participants in GSoC that some of their best student projects are those that greatly expanded on a proposed idea or were blue-sky proposals not mentioned on the Ideas list at all.

How does a student apply?

Students can submit their applications via the SUMO 2010 site from June 7 - June 14, 2010. We've heard from mentoring organizations in GSoC that the best applications they receive are from students who took the time to interact and discuss their ideas before submitting an application, so make sure to check out each organization's "Ideas" list to get to know a particular open source organization better.

What should a student application look like?

Your application should include the following: your project proposal, why you'd like to execute on this particular project, and the reason you're the best individual to do so. Your proposal should also include details of your academic, industry, and/or open source development experience, and other details as you see fit. An explanation of your project methodology is a good idea, as well. It is always helpful to include contact information, as well, as it will not be automatically shared with your would-be mentors as part of the application process. If the organization you want to work with has a specific application template they would like you to use, it will be made available to you to fill in when submitting your proposal via the SUMO web app.

Can a student submit more than one application?

Yes, each student may submit up to ten applications. However, only one application will be accepted. We've heard from mentoring organizations in GSoC that quality is better than quantity.

Can students already working on an open source project continue to work on it as part of SUMO?

Yes, as long as they meet all other requirements for program eligibility. Students should be sure to note their previous relationship with the project in their applications. New work will need to be done for the project as part of participation in SUMO.

Should students begin working on their applications before SIDE-Labs begins accepting program applications?

That's up to you. Keep in mind, though, that mentoring organizations will be publishing a list of proposed project ideas, so you may find that you'll want to revamp your application later, or create an entirely new one to address one of those ideas.

Can a student work on more than one project?

No, each participant is only eligible for one stipend.

Can a group apply for and work on a single proposal?

No, only an individual may work on a given project. Of course, students should feel free to collaborate with others to accomplish their project goals.

What happens if two students are accepted to work on the same project, e.g. from an organization's "Ideas" list?

That's fine, a little duplication is par for the course in open source. Nevertheless, reinventing the wheel is not part of the best practices in sustainable world :-)

Are proposals for documentation work eligible for SUMO?

While we greatly appreciate the value of documentation, this program is an exercise in modeling domains and developing code; we can't accept proposals for documentation-only work at this time.