Delivered in the education track for the 2011 POSSCON conference. As more companies build their business using open source software and development methodologies, gaining an understanding of these technologies gives students a leg up when searching for careers in industry and internships. Participation in open source software communities also brings a host of other skills that empower participants for future success: the ability to communicate effectively, the aptitude to understand diverse points of view and the skills to persuade team mates that a particular solution is best. In this talk, Leslie Hawthorn will draw on her years of experience working with university students engaged in open source development, highlighting the value of involvement for student members of the audience and giving a clear roadmap to those who are ready to get started participating.

1. Student
Involvement
in
Open
Source
Why,
How
and
Where
to
Get
Started
Leslie
Hawthorn
OSU
Open
Source
Lab

3. Oregon
State
University
Open
Source
Lab
• Founded
in
2003
• Hosts
more
than
100
projects:
Linux
kernel,
Apache,
Fedora,
Debian,
PHP

4. Why
Open
Source?
• More
than
50%
of
leading
IT
organizaRons
are
using
open
source
soSware
– CompeRRve
advantage
– Lower
cost
of
ownership
• 30%
of
soSware
used
at
these
companies
is
open
source,
up
from
10%
five
years
ago
Gartner,
February
2011

5. Employers
Value
OS
Experience
• EvaluaRng
potenRal
hires
• Lowering
training
costs
• Decreasing
Rme
from
hire
to
full
producRvity

6. Open
Source
&
You
• Create
a
citable
body
of
work
• Nurture
your
passion
for
programming
• Learn
cool
stuff
outside
the
classroom
• Make
a
real
difference
in
people’s
lives

7. Ge]ng
Involved
in
Open
Source

8. The
TradiRonal
Route
More
on
this
later….

10. Google
Summer
of
CodeTM
• Flip
bits,
not
burgers
• 175
open
source
projects
for
2011
• Up
to
1000
students
accepted
in
the
past
• Important
dates
– March
28th:
student
applicaRon
period
opens
– April
8th:
student
applicaRon
deadline

11. The
Summer
of
Code
Meme
• GNOME
Outreach
Program
for
Women
– ApplicaRon
deadline:
April
9th
• New
Zealand
Summer
of
Code
• Ruby
Summer
of
Code
• Humanitarian
FOSS
Project
Internships
• Many
more….

12. • Program
for
pre-­‐
university
students
• Must
be
13-­‐18
to
parRcipate
• Looks
great
on
college
applicaRons

13. Get
a
Job
• Internships
with
OS
friendly
companies
• Numerous
open
source
employers
– Mozilla,
RedHat,
etc.
• Student
experiences
on
campus

14. Conferences
and
Unconferences
• In
person
interacRons
are
very
helpful
– Project
culture
and
understanding
tone
• Unconferences
have
low
barrier
to
entry

15. Join
Your
Local
User
Group

16. Diving
Right
In
Made
Simple
• Start
with
projects
that
have
parRcipated
in
Google
Summer
of
Code
• InvesRgate
to
ensure
a
project
is
open
for
business
• Look
for
projects
that
explicitly
welcome
new
contributors

17. OpenHatch:
I
Want
to
Help

18. Looking
Credible
in
a
Few
Easy
Steps
• Read
project
website
thoroughly
• Subscribe
to
project
mailing
lists
• Join
project
IRC
channel
– “Lurk”
unRl
you
get
the
lay
of
the
land
• Ask
quesRons
the
smart
way

19. Mistakes
• You
will
make
them.
Many
of
them.
• Just
don’t
make
the
same
one
repeatedly.

20. A
Few
Closing
Thoughts

21. Saving
the
World
• Many
projects
help
those
most
in
need
– Sahana,
OpenMRS,
Usahidi
• Many
focus
on
social
jusRce
causes
– Sunlight
FoundaRon,
Tor,
Martus
• Many
support
the
mission
of
non-­‐profits
– CiviCRM,
HFOSS
Project,
the
enRre
stack

22. The
real
point
is
to
have
fun
and
learn
something
…

23. Ge]ng
an
awesome
job
and
helping
others
are
great
results….

24. Thank
You!
QuesRons?
Leslie
Hawthorn
@lhawthorn
leslie@osuosl.org

25. Credits
and
Licensing
• Heart
Oregon:
hlp://www.flickr.com/photos/cosmic_bandita/3960799351/
• Fire:
hlp://www.flickr.com/photos/7309767@N02/444312011/
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