Google Summer of Code 2021 will bring some changes

Google Open Source is pleased to announce the 2021 cycle of the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) program, which will be our 17th consecutive year bringing students into open source communities. Over the past 16 years Google Summer of Code has brought over 16,000 student developers from 111 countries into 715 open source organizations big and small.

Some exciting changes are coming to the 2021 GSoC as we make adjustments to add more flexibility into the program for students and mentors alike.

• With the pandemic straining folks’ time we are changing the size of the projects and time commitment students are expected to spend on their projects. Starting in 2021, students will be focused on a 175-hour project over a 10-week coding period.
• As students are learning in many different educational formats in 2020, we are opening up the 2021 program to students 18 years and older who are:
1. Enrolled in post-secondary academic programs (including college, university, masters program, PhD program and/or undergraduate program, or licensed coding school, etc.) as of May 17, 2021; or,
2. Have graduated from a post-secondary academic program between December 1, 2020 and May 17, 2021.

We’re excited that GSoC will be able to continue to thrive as we welcome more students from around the world into open source in 2021! Applications for interested open source project organizations open on January 29th, and student applications open March 29, 2021.

Does your open source project want to learn more about how to apply to be a mentoring organization? This is a mentorship program so having mentors excited about teaching students how to be a part of your community and ready to guide students is key.

Visit the program site and read the mentor guide to learn more about what it means to be a mentor organization, how to prepare your community (hint: have plenty of enthusiastic mentors!), create appropriate project ideas, and tips for preparing your application. We welcome all types of organizations—large and small—and are very eager to involve first time projects. For 2021, we hope to welcome more organizations than ever before and are looking to accept at least 40 into their first GSoC.

Are you a student interested in learning how to prepare for the 2021 GSoC program? It’s never too early to start thinking about your proposal or about what type of open source organization you may want to work with. Read through the student guide for important tips on preparing your proposal and what to consider if you wish to apply for the program in late-March. You can also get inspired by checking out the 198 organizations that participated in Google Summer of Code 2020, as well as the projects that students worked on.

We encourage you to explore other resources and you can learn more on the program website.

Please spread the word to your friends as we hope these changes will help more excited folks apply to be students and mentoring organizations in GSoC 2021!

By Stephanie Taylor, Program Manager—Google Open Source