So I Applied for GSoC

Yash Agarwal
2 minutes

I first heard about Google Summer of Code (GSoC) in my second year (2016). It was quite fascinating to know that such a program exists (possibly because of that super attractive amount of money, $5500 at that time). I researched about it and sent emails to some mentors. The replies were mostly encouraging, but I still could not gather the courage to apply as I used to doubt my capabilities. Then last year (2017) again, I decided that I should try for GSoC one more time. I looked for the projects, started reading codebase of one project, but due to my lack of determination, I again did not apply.

In the summers of 2017, I got some time to think about it. I decided that for the next year, I will try everything to make sure that I apply for GSoC 2018. I started coding as much as possible and pushing my code to GitHub to build an impressive profile.

Now I can say that I am satisfied with my efforts to some extent. I did start some good open source projects. They are not very extraordinary, but something is better than nothing. I dived into Debian packaging also and volunteered for a FOSS event. Spreading awareness about FOSS is also contributing to FOSS. Isn’t it?

Coming back to GSoC, this year, I have successfully submitted a proposal to the Debian Project. It does not matter whether I get it or not. I overcame one of my biggest fears of doubting my capabilities. It is something that I was trying to do for the last two years. This moment is worth celebrating.

Read about my GSoC project on Boot Many Machines via Bittorrent. It is related to something which I learned in SSL as SSL admin.

Read my project proposal on Google Drive or Debian Wiki.

gsoc timeline

gsoc timeline

Eagerly waiting for the results. 😄

Update(24/04/2018): Finally, I did not get into GSoC this time too. No worries. I anticipated the results and prepared backup plans. Looking forward to a productive summer. :)

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