OSRE Summer 2022 - Information for OSRE Mentors

Bring in new developers to your open source community!

Receive support from interested organizations & companies!

Video of Mentor Information Session (November 18) Now Available

Are you a UC-affiliated researcher looking to build a community around your research project? Can you mentor a few talented students over the summer who will help you make progress in your work?

See instructions on how to submit project ideas here. Also check out our mentor guide and the Q&A below.

Starting with the academic year 2022, CROSS is opening the OSRE and our Ideas Page to any UC-affiliated researcher working in an open source ecosystem.  This means that faculty, researchers or graduate students working on open source projects can use the Open Source Marketplace to build their contributor community and attract sponsors interested in supporting their work.  

The goal of this program is to increase student capabilities in working in open source projects, add productive contributors to on-going projects, and further promote open source throughout the UC system.

CROSS values diversity and inclusion in all our projects. We invite mentors from groups traditionally excluded in tech and open source communities to participate in this program.

Why should I be an OSRE mentor?

If you could use undergraduate research assistance over the summer with your on-going research, this is a great opportunity to get matched to tops students. The OSRE Ideas Page can include a whole range of activities that interested students can help you with, including coding, documentation, web or other design needs. And you get to decide which student projects sound interesting to you and who you want to work with.

The OSRE is also able to attact a wide range of talented contributors. We leverage our participation in programs like the Googe Summer of Code and other similar fellowship efforts to advertize our project ideas to an international audience. We also have an established mechanism that enables us to manage the adminstrative aspects of bringing on a summer student from both inside and outside the UC-system. We take care of the bureaucracy and outreach so our mentors can focus on working with their students and building their communities. 

Who can be a mentor?

Any UC-affiliated faculty, researchers or graduate students working on projects that are or will ultimately be part of an open source community/ecosystem.

Does the mentor's project have to be open source?

Yes. All projects funded through this program must be open source projects.

Note: All software created as part of a CROSS project must be released as free and open source under a license that is both approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) and recognized as free by the Free Software Foundation (FSF).

What kind of projects are you accepting? Are their specific technologies or topics that you prefer?

The OSRE program supports projects in a wide range of open source communities. We have no requirement for the type of technology or aspects of the project being worked on, so long as it is or ultimately will be part of an open source project or community.

How to I submit a project?

The instructions for how to submie your project ideas can be found in the Read Me file of our GitHub repo. You can follow these instructions and add the project(s) as pull requests to the mark down document. If you have questions about the process for this, please contact us at cross-info@ucsc.edu.

How are chosen students compensated for their work on my project? 

The OSRE is based on a Marketplace of Project Ideas which is reviewed by potential sponsors in early Winter 2022. The OSRE organizers -- CROSS at UC Santa Cruz -- also apply for programs like the Google Summer of Code which helps fund additional student summer projects. These sponsorships and supporting programs allow the OSRE to fund the work of students over the summer.

Do I need to identify sponsors interested in my project to be included in the OSRE?

Mentors are encouraged to reach out to organizations that might be interested in sponsoring your student in order to assure support for your projects and preferred students. However, the OSRE program also undertakes its own sponsor outreach to attract a wide variety of potential funders.

Who is eligible to apply for an OSRE student contributor slot?

Due to the open source nature of all OSRE projects, contributions are welcomed from any college or university student (over the age of 18). Students based at a non-US university, please contact cross-info@ucsc.edu to confirm your eligibility for this program.

We typically support the work of undergraduate students; however graduate students may also apply to work on more advanced project ideas. Please check out the project ideas page and contact the mentor if you have questions.

How do students find my project and apply to work with me?

Prior to the application period, all participating mentors will begin adding their project ideas on the OSRE Project Idea Marketplace. These project ideas are meant to help students craft a summer project application that will be rewarding for them and positively contribute to the mentor's existing open source project.

In order to assure best matches between students and mentors, all students are instructed to reach out to  mentors before they begin the application process. Mentors should expect to hear from interested students as early as January 2022.

What is the timeline for the program?

(Note - these dates are subject to change so please check back for possible updates)

The project ideas page can be edited at any time although it is preferred that project ideas be added prior to January 15, 2022. Students can reach out to mentors beginning in mid-January. Student applications will be due to April 30, 2022. Mentors review proposals and select their preferred students. OSRE organizers allocate slots based on sponsor preferences and funding levels. OSRE project typically run from 10 to 12 weeks, from early June to early September. We allow for start/end date flexibility accomodate differing academic year schedules.