What is Outreachy
Outreachy provides internships in open source to anyone from any background who faces underrepresentation, systemic bias, or discrimination in the technical industry where they are living. Outreachy provides an opportunity for an online collaborative environment for learning, and remote mentoring with experienced FOSS contributors.
What kinds of projects do Outreachy internships offer.
A common misconception that participants have is that Outreachy projects are strictly programming based. This isn't true. Some Outreachy projects are focused on non-programming work. These may involve design, documentation, user experience, marketing, or event planning.
Outreachy application is split into three phases- Initial Application Phase, Conrtibution Phase and Final Application Phase. I will explain how to approach both these phases in a detailed manner.
Initial Application Phase
Outreachy runs twice every year. The mid-year applications tentatively open early February and end of year applications open late august. It is a good idea to keep an eye on Outreachy's official website and subscribe to their mailing list to get an update about future internships.
Eligibility
Before anything it is important to check if you are eligible to participate in an internship cohort. Outreachy has a wide set of rules to determine eligibility
- You must me 18 or above when your internships start.
- You must be available for a full-time internship. Outreachy interns work 30 hours per week.
- You must not be a past Outreachy or Google Summer of Code intern.
- You must not have another paid/unpaid internship or a full-time job or a full-time contracting position during the Outreachy internship period.
- If you are a student of a university in the Northern Hemisphere, you will only be eligible for the May to August internship cohort. Students in India are considered to be in the northern hemisphere, regardless of where their university is located.
- If you are a student of a university in the Southern Hemisphere, you will only be eligible for the December to March internship cohort. Otherwise, if your university is near the equator, you may apply to any internship cohort. We will review university term schedules on a case-by-case basis.
- Non students can apply to either cohort.
These rules may change from time to time. Check the official website to stay up to date.
Remember the initial phase is usually lasts 7-14 days. Applications are accepted on a fist come first serve basis. So, do not wait until the last day to apply.
Initial Phase Essays
The Initial Phase Application involves answering four essay questions. Please do not use generative AI to create or edit your essays. It is important that you write about your lived experiences. Using generative AI, even to polish your essays, can introduce inaccuracies and an inauthentic writing style. The mentors and Outreachy organizers read thousands of applications and would instantly know if you have used AI for your essays and your application may be cancelled.
The Waiting Period
Now, that you have submitted your initial application, you wait. I you are anything like me you would probably be a bundle of nerves during this time and be anxious about whether or not your application will be selects. But please, do not do this. Instead use this time judiciously to hone your technical skills and see if you can get involved with an open source mentoring community.
Congratulations, Your initial application is selected!! Contribution Period starts.
The big day finally arrives. You receive a mail confirming your selection in the contribution phase. Now what to do?
You probably want to rush up and start making as many contributions as you can. But wait, do not start working before looking at the complete project list carefully. Narrow down to 1-2 projects. Join the mentoring channels and introduce yourself. Install and use the project yourself. You may encounter some issues while setting up your project. Do not hesitate to ask questions in these channels. Your mentors will be around to help. Your fellow contributors can help you too and once you become well verse with everything you can offer help to others based on your learnings. After all this is what the spirit of open source is-Giving back to the community.
Reach out to the mentors
After setting up your project reach out to you mentors and ask them about the available issues. It is encouraged that you contact the mentors on the public forums mentioned in the project description. Avoid contacting the mentors personally. It is possible that others also have the same doubts as you. Asking questions in the public forums clears it for all.
Making Contributions
Start early. Some project mentors find that they have many promising applicants. They may choose to close their project to new applicants. If you wait too long to start, your project may be closed to new applicants.
Start with a smaller contribution. Then try a more complex contribution. The end goal is to show you have the skills to be a successful intern.
Recording Contributions
Applicants are required to record their contributions in the Outreachy website. **You need to have atleast one recorded contribution to be allowed to submit a final application.
It is best to record a contribution as soon as you start working on it and not wait till the end as you have to wrap up everything and will not be able to think thoroughly. You can go back and edit your recorded contribution at any time. Ask your mentors if they can review your contributions.
Final Application
After recording your contributions you move to the last phase that is the final application phase. The final application asks four questions-
- Past experience with this community.
- Past experience with other communities.
- Relevant Projects
- Outreachy internship project timeline: This question asks you to provide a tentative timeline of your internship project. Go through the project description and familiarize yourself with the provided tasks and milestones. Once you have a clear understanding of the project, create a timeline outlining the tasks you plan to work on during the internship. Break down your project into smaller bi-weekly/weekly tasks. Be prepared to adjust your timeline as needed to accommodate unexpected developments or changes in project scope. Make sure to take into account any time commitments you have during the Outreachy internship round. You can always asks your mentors to review your breakdown of tasks to see if you are on the right track.
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