Tips for students to crack Google Summer of Code (GSoC )

For first-year engineering students, the thought of getting selected for Google Summer of Code (GSoC) might seem daunting. Navigating open-source projects, large codebases, and global communities may feel overwhelming but students can become genuine open-source developers by starting early, focusing on essential skills, and strategically engaging with communities.

What is GSoC?

GSoC is a global initiative allowing student developers to contribute to open-source projects while receiving mentorship from experienced developers worldwide. The fully remote programme offers stipends and provides invaluable real-world experiences and exposure to a vibrant global developer network. Any student over 18 years can apply, irrespective of their academic year or industry experience.

Ideally, aspirants should start preparing by November or December before applications open. This has advantages such as ample time to understand different organisations, explore their code bases, and make meaningful initial contributions. Building familiarity with a project’s community significantly increases the chances of selection.

Focus on

Technical skills matter, but deep mastery isn’t required. GSoC values curiosity, practical skills, and a willingness to learn. Students can consider:

• Becoming proficient in one or two programming languages relevant to their chosen projects.

• Gaining early experience with tools such as Git and GitHub, debugging, and technical documentation, ideally from their first semester itself.

• Engaging with simple but powerful learning projects that build confidence in handling larger, more complex contributions.

• Understanding collaborative development workflows, including pull requests, code reviews, and issue tracking.

Selecting the right organisation is equally important. Students will benefit by focusing on a small number —ideally three-to-five — of organisations aligned with their interests and known tech stacks, especially those with active maintainers and clearly defined ‘good first issues’.

The contribution strategy should emphasise quality over quantity. Small yet consistent micro-contributions, such as fixing bugs, enhancing documentation, or reporting insightful issues based on actual use of the project, are greatly valued by mentors. Effective community engagement involves:

• Using official communication channels rather than direct messages to mentors.

• Demonstrating independent research and posing thoughtful questions.

• Engaging respectfully and proactively in community discussions and issue threads.

Strong proposal

Next comes the application. Here, the proposal is crucial as it should demonstrate understanding of the project, highlight prior contributions, and outline realistic plans and timelines for summer work. Successful proposals typically span 10–15 pages and give clear deliverables and personal motivations. Importantly, contributions shouldn’t stop after proposal submission. Continued involvement shows genuine commitment and significantly enhances selection chances.

Even students who don’t get selected gain invaluable experience, build skills in problem-solving, independent learning, professional communication, and global collaboration, and learn to navigate nuanced cultural differences in communication, feedback, trust-building, and decision-making within global teams.

For first-year students, early participation is crucial because learning by doing is exceptionally effective. Moreover, numerous projects require extra help, allowing students to make substantial contributions immediately. Starting early gives students time to establish or maintain impactful community-driven projects throughout their college years.

Ultimately, cracking GSoC in the first year requires consistency, curiosity, and genuine commitment. For those willing to look beyond the classroom, GSoC is a gateway to becoming active contributing members of the global open-source ecosystem.

The writer is the founder of Newton School of Technology.