DEV Community

Cover image for Dev Opportunity Radar #10: OpenAI Student Collective, Develop for Good, MLH Global Hack Week & Learning How to Learn
Hemapriya Kanagala for The DEVengers

Posted on

Dev Opportunity Radar #10: OpenAI Student Collective, Develop for Good, MLH Global Hack Week & Learning How to Learn

Readers actively sharing hidden tech finds

TL;DR

Welcome back to Dev Opportunity Radar.

This is a weekly series where I share opportunities, resources, communities, and interesting finds that I come across, with the goal of helping people discover things they might otherwise miss.

This week's edition features Develop for Good, MLH Global Hack Week: Agents, the OpenAI Student Collective, and Learning How to Learn, a free Coursera course that has helped millions of people become more effective learners.

If you're new to the series, you can now browse previous editions, search past opportunities, and explore Community Finds, Reader Updates, and Resources Worth Checking Out on the Dev Opportunity Radar website. I've also written a short post about why I built it. You'll find links to both at the end of this article.

If you've discovered something through the radar, I'd love to hear about it. Whether you applied to an opportunity, joined a community, completed a program, or found a resource you hadn't seen before, I'd be happy to feature your experience in a future πŸ’™ Reader Updates section (with your permission).

And if you've come across an opportunity, resource, community, program, or event that deserves more attention, feel free to share it in the comments.

If I feature one of your Community Finds in a future edition, I'll always make sure to credit you. If you discovered it, that recognition belongs to you.


Table of Contents


⚑ Quick Scan

Opportunities

Opportunity Organization Type Format Deadline
Develop for Good Winter 2027 Develop for Good Student Volunteer Program Remote August 31
Global Hack Week: Agents Major League Hacking (MLH) Online Hack Week Remote August 7 (Event Starts)
OpenAI Student Collective OpenAI Campus Leadership Program In Person (Campus-Based) August 10

Resource Highlight

Resource Why Check It Out
Learning How to Learn A free Coursera course that teaches practical learning strategies, memory techniques, and study habits that can help you learn technical subjects more effectively.

Community Find

Shared By Find Type Format
Francis (@francistrdev) CALEC Volunteer & Internship Opportunities Volunteer & Internship Opportunities Remote

πŸ“ A quick note: I spend a lot of time researching and verifying every opportunity before featuring it in Dev Opportunity Radar. However, deadlines, eligibility, program details, and application requirements can change after publication. Before applying, please take a few minutes to visit the official program page, review the latest information, and confirm that you're eligible.


πŸ”„ Still Open From Previous Editions

Before we get into this week's opportunities, here are a few from previous editions that are still accepting applications.

I've already covered these in detail, so I won't repeat everything here. If any of them catch your attention, you can find the full overview, eligibility details, and application links in the original edition.

Opportunity Organization Type Format Deadline Featured In
FR8 FR8 Builder Residency In Person Rolling Edition #2
Anthropic Fellows Program Anthropic AI Research Fellowship In Person Rolling Edition #4
Sentient Open Source AGI Grant Program Sentient Foundation AI Grant & Investment Remote Rolling Edition #6
Solo Grants Solo Grants Microgrant for Solo Builders Remote Rolling Edition #7
Claude for Open Source Anthropic Open Source Program Remote Rolling Edition #7
The Bridge Entrepreneurs First Founder Residency In Person August 30 Edition #9
Frontier AI Security Residency ERA AI Security Research & Engineering Residency In Person August 2 Edition #9
Figma Campus Leader Program 2026–2027 Figma Student Leadership Program In Person (Campus-Based) August 2 Edition #9
AIAF Fellowship 2026 AIAF Γ— AE Studio AI Research Fellowship Remote August 17 Edition #8

πŸ“ This Week's Opportunities

Here are a few opportunities I came across this week that I thought were worth sharing.

πŸ“Œ Develop for Good Winter 2027 Student Volunteer Program

Who it's for: University students, bootcamp graduates, and recent graduates (with less than two years of full-time work experience) who want to gain real-world product, design, or engineering experience while contributing to nonprofit organizations. International students are welcome, and the program is fully remote.

What stands out: Develop for Good matches students with nonprofit organizations to work on real technology projects over a 16-week virtual program. Participants join cross-functional teams alongside designers, engineers, and product managers, receive mentorship from industry professionals, and build products that support causes like education, healthcare, sustainability, poverty alleviation, disaster relief, and more.

I wanted to include this because one of the biggest challenges early in your career is answering the question, "How do I get experience if every opportunity asks for experience?" Programs like this help bridge that gap. Unlike many volunteer programs, this one is intentionally structured to feel like working on a real product team. Instead of working on another tutorial or personal project, you get to collaborate with a real client, solve real problems, and build something that can become a meaningful portfolio piece.

Another thing I like is how closely the experience mirrors a real software team. Students work through project planning, stakeholder communication, technical collaboration, documentation, and product delivery over four months. Participants can also receive mentorship, recommendation letters, portfolio case studies, and opportunities to network with professionals during Demo Day. For eligible students from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds, the Develop for Good Fellows program also provides $1,536 unrestricted cash grants upon successful completion.

Program Duration: 16 weeks (Winter 2027 Batch)

Time Commitment: Approximately 5–10 hours per week

Format: Fully remote

Roles Available: Engineering, Design, Product Management, Technical Management, and Design Management

Who can apply: Applicants aged 18+ who are university students, bootcamp students, or recent graduates with less than two years of full-time work experience. International students are eligible.

Application Deadline: September 15, 2026

πŸ”— Learn More | πŸ”— Apply


πŸ“Œ MLH Global Hack Week: Agents

Who it's for: Students, beginners, aspiring developers, experienced engineers, and anyone interested in learning about AI agents through hands-on challenges. You don't need prior hackathon experience to participate, and the event is open to people around the world.

What stands out: Global Hack Week: Agents is a free, week-long online event hosted by Major League Hacking (MLH) that combines workshops, technical challenges, community activities, and project building around the theme of AI agents. Throughout the week, participants can attend live coding sessions, complete challenges at their own pace, earn points, connect with other builders on Discord, and learn directly from the MLH community.

I wanted to include this because learning about AI agents is becoming increasingly valuable, but it can be difficult to know where to start. This event lowers that barrier by combining guided workshops with practical challenges, making it approachable whether you're experimenting with agents for the first time or looking to build on your existing skills.

Another thing I like is that you don't have to commit to building a full hackathon project over a weekend. Instead, you can participate throughout the week, choose the challenges that interest you, attend live sessions, and learn alongside thousands of developers from around the world. It's a great way to build new skills, meet other developers, and stay motivated without the pressure of a traditional hackathon.

Event Dates: August 7–13, 2026

Format: Fully online

Cost: Free

Who can apply: Anyone, anywhere. All experience levels are welcome, including beginners and non-students. Participants aged 13+ may join with parental permission.

Registration: Open

πŸ”— Learn More & Register


πŸ“Œ OpenAI Student Collective

Who it's for: Undergraduate students who enjoy building communities and are excited to help others learn how to use AI tools like ChatGPT and Codex. Students from all majors are encouraged to apply. The program is open to students studying in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, Japan, and South Korea.

What stands out: The OpenAI Student Collective is a new campus leadership program where students work in pairs to build AI communities at their universities. Campus Leads organize workshops, host weekly Studio Hours where students can build projects together, run campus showcases, and help create an environment where anyone curious about AI can learn and experiment.

I wanted to include this because AI communities on campus are growing quickly, but they often depend on a few students taking the initiative to bring people together. This program gives students the support, resources, and funding to create those spaces while helping others become more confident using AI tools.

Another thing I like is that the focus isn't just on teaching ChatGPT or Codex. It's about helping students actually build projects together. Campus Leads receive training, event funding, a ChatGPT subscription, Codex credits, OpenAI swag, a semester stipend, and access to the OpenAI team and a global network of Campus Leads. There are also opportunities to visit OpenAI HQ and connect with other student leaders from around the world.

Program Duration: August 2026 – June 2027

Time Commitment: Approximately 4–6 hours per week

Who can apply: Undergraduate students aged 18 or older who expect to graduate after December 2027. Applicants should be studying in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, Japan, or South Korea.

Application Deadline: August 10, 2026 (11:59 PM PT)

πŸ”— Learn More & Apply


πŸ“š Resources Worth Checking Out

Not every useful find comes with an application deadline.

Here's one resource worth checking out this week.

Learning How to Learn (Free Coursera Course)

Who it's for: Students, self-taught developers, career changers, and anyone who wants to become better at learning technical subjects like programming, AI, math, or computer science.

What stands out: Learning How to Learn, taught by Dr. Barbara Oakley and Dr. Terrence Sejnowski, is one of Coursera's most popular courses, with over 4 million learners. Instead of teaching a specific programming language or framework, it focuses on something even more valuable: how to learn effectively. The course covers topics like procrastination, memory, focused and diffuse thinking, chunking, learning strategies, and practical techniques you can apply no matter what you're studying.

I wanted to include this because I genuinely found it helpful. I first came across Barbara Oakley through her TEDx talk, which eventually led me to this course. It completely changed the way I thought about learning difficult subjects. Whether you're learning AI, web development, cybersecurity, or preparing for interviews, I think understanding how to learn is one of the best investments you can make.

One thing I especially wanted to share is that you don't have to pay to take the full course. Coursera has a partner-supported free version that gives you access to all the course content. The only thing you don't receive is the certificate, which I think is a great option if you're primarily there to learn.

Course Length: Approximately 2 weeks (around 10 hours)

Cost: Free (certificate optional)

πŸ’‘ Free Access Tip: You can take the full version of this course for free (without the certificate). On the Coursera course page, scroll all the way down to the FAQ section. Under More Questions, click Partner-supported free access, then select Learn More followed by Continue to enroll. You'll get access to the complete course content without paying for the certificate.

Format: Self-paced online course

πŸ”— Course | πŸ”— TEDx Talk (Optional)


🌟 Community Finds

One of my favorite things about this series has been seeing people share opportunities, communities, and resources that others might not have discovered otherwise.

CALEC Volunteer and Internship Opportunities

Back in Edition #6, I featured CALEC's remote volunteer and internship opportunities after Francis (@francistrdev) shared them with the community. If you missed it, you can find the full overview and all the details in Edition #6.

Since sharing this opportunity with the community, Francis has also published a dedicated DEV post about the Full-Stack Developer volunteer role at CALEC. If that role interests you, it's worth checking out for his perspective and some additional information about what the team is looking for.

πŸ”— Francis' post

πŸ”— CALEC Volunteer & Internship Opportunities | πŸ”— Edition #6


Thank you to Francis (@francistrdev) for thinking of the radar and sharing this with the community. It really means a lot πŸ’™

I'd love for this section to keep growing.

If you've come across an opportunity, fellowship, grant, hackathon, conference, community, resource, or anything else you think more people should know about, feel free to share it in the comments.

If I feature it in a future edition, I'll always make sure to credit you. If you discovered it, that recognition belongs to you.

One small request: If you're sharing an opportunity, please avoid posting raw URLs directly in the comments. DEV sometimes filters them before I get a chance to see them.

A short description alongside the link makes it much easier for me to review and potentially feature it in a future edition.


πŸ’™ Reader Updates

I'm looking forward to this section gradually growing over time, and I'd still love to hear from you.

One of my favorite parts of writing Dev Opportunity Radar has been hearing from people who discovered something they otherwise might have missed.

If you discovered an opportunity through the radar, applied to something, joined a community, attended an event, or simply found a resource you hadn't seen before, I'd genuinely love to hear about it.

You don't need to have been accepted or have a big success story to share. Sometimes simply discovering the right opportunity at the right time is already a win.

If you'd like to share an update, feel free to leave a comment on this edition. With your permission, I may feature it in a future πŸ’™ Reader Updates section and tag you so other readers can celebrate your journey too.

I hope this section gradually becomes a place where we can celebrate those stories together, one update at a time.


πŸ‘‹ Until Next Friday

Before I go, I just want to say thank you.

Every week, I spend time searching for opportunities, resources, and communities that I think deserve a little more attention. But one of my favorite parts of this series isn't the research. It's seeing what happens after an edition is published.

Seeing someone discover an opportunity, apply to a program, share a resource, suggest a Community Find, or come back to tell us what they learned reminds me why I started Dev Opportunity Radar in the first place.

The goal has always been simple:

Help people discover opportunities they otherwise might have missed.

Thanks to all of you, it feels like we're doing exactly that.

Whether you've been reading since the very first edition or this is your first time here, thank you for being part of the journey. Every comment, suggestion, and shared opportunity helps make this series better than I could build on my own.

If you ever come across an opportunity, resource, event, community, or anything else you think deserves more attention, I'd love for you to share it in the comments. And if Dev Opportunity Radar helped you discover something exciting, I'd love to hear that too.

Thank you for reading, for sharing, and for helping make this our radar, not just mine.

I'll be back next Friday with more opportunities, resources, and Community Finds.

Until then, take care, and I hope you discover something amazing this week πŸ’™


🌐 Dev Opportunity Radar Website

If this is your first time discovering the series, you can explore every edition, browse opportunities by category, discover Community Finds, and catch up on Reader Updates on the Dev Opportunity Radar website.

πŸ‘‰ Website

I also wrote a short post about why I built the website and the journey behind it.

πŸ‘‰ Website Launch Post

Top comments (9)

Collapse
 
hemapriya_kanagala profile image
Hemapriya Kanagala The DEVengers • Edited

What opportunities, communities, grants, fellowships, hackathons, conferences, or resources have you come across recently that deserve more attention?

I am always looking for things to include in future editions, so feel free to share anything interesting you've found. If I feature one of your finds in a future edition, I'll always make sure to credit you.

If you discovered an opportunity through the radar, applied to something, joined a community, attended an event, or simply found something you hadn't seen before, I'd genuinely love to hear about that too. With your permission, I'd be happy to feature your update in a future πŸ’™ Reader Updates section.

Small request: If you're sharing a link, please avoid posting raw URLs directly. DEV sometimes filters them before I get a chance to see the comment.

Collapse
 
hemapriya_kanagala profile image
Hemapriya Kanagala The DEVengers

πŸ’™ A small update inspired by community feedback:

Thanks to @wrobeltomasz for the thoughtful suggestion on the last edition. I loved the idea of making it easier to quickly see which opportunities are remote and which are in person, so I've added that to this edition's Quick Scan.

I'll also continue looking for more remote opportunities to feature whenever I find good ones. Some weeks naturally lean more toward in-person programs, but I'll always try to keep a good mix.

Thank you again for the feedback, Tomasz. Suggestions like these genuinely help make Dev Opportunity Radar a little better with every edition πŸ˜€

Collapse
 
wrobeltomasz profile image
Tomasz

@hemapriya_kanagala thank you for your kind words and appreciation.
I wish the β€œDev Opportunity Radar” series continued success.

Collapse
 
dannwaneri profile image
Daniel Nwaneri

Hema, Edition #2 is where I found FR8. Applied the same day, got the confirmation email, then a rejection a few days later. Didn't get the residency, but it's part of why I'm in the Global AI Hackathon and the Africa Deep Tech Challenge this month instead of just reading about them. Wanted you to know the radar worked, even on the one that didn't land.

Collapse
 
hemapriya_kanagala profile image
Hemapriya Kanagala The DEVengers

Daniel, thank you so much for sharing this.

I'm sorry FR8 didn't work out, but I'm really glad you applied. And honestly, I really liked what you said at the end: "the radar worked, even on the one that didn't land." I couldn't have said it better myself.

I also love hearing that it encouraged you to put yourself out there and apply for other opportunities. Sometimes that's how it starts.

Wishing you the very best with the Global AI Hackathon and the Africa Deep Tech Challenge! I'll be rooting for you, and I'd love to hear how they go πŸ’™

Collapse
 
buildbasekit profile image
buildbasekit

The Quick Scan keeps getting better. Makes it so easy to spot what's worth checking out first πŸ‘

Collapse
 
hemapriya_kanagala profile image
Hemapriya Kanagala The DEVengers

Thank you so much! I actually added the Online / In-Person labels this week after a suggestion from the last edition, so it's really nice to hear they're making the Quick Scan easier to browse.

And thank you for always supporting the series. It means a lot to me. I really appreciate you taking the time to read every edition and share your encouragement πŸ˜€

Collapse
 
technogamerz profile image
π“π‘πž π‹πšπ³π² 𝐆𝐒𝐫π₯

Whenever I see the Dev Opportunity Radar website, it fills me with so much happiness. I don't really know why, but it always brings a smile to my face.❀️

Collapse
 
hemapriya_kanagala profile image
Hemapriya Kanagala The DEVengers

Aww, thank you so much, Divyanshi πŸ₯ΉπŸ’™ That genuinely means more than you know.

Hearing that the website brings a smile to your face honestly makes all the time that went into building it worth it. I really hope it continues to help more people discover opportunities they might otherwise have missed.