Conference:  KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2023

Authors: Brad McCoy, Meha Bhalodiya

2023-04-21

The presentation discusses the experience of contributing to open source projects, particularly through Google Summer of Code (GSoC), and the benefits it brings to both mentors and mentees.

• The speaker shares her experience of contributing to Jenkins through GSoC
• The CDF community is welcoming and supportive of new contributors
• Goal setting, time commitment, and communication are important factors in successful contributions
• Imposter syndrome is a common challenge for mentees
• Anyone can be a mentor regardless of their level of expertise
• Matching the right project is crucial for successful contributions

Conference:  KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2022

Authors: Nate Waddington, Jay Tihema

2022-10-26

Most CNCF projects want to participate in new contributor mentoring programs, but it's hard to get started -- and it's even harder to be successful. Meet the new Mentoring Working Group, who will help you with information, resources, and peer coaching. We'll also be introducing an exciting new program. LFX, GSOC, Outreach, and others let you grow and diversity project contributors through mentoring. We'll talk about the existing programs, how you can get involved, and ways to minimize the work involved. We'll also review how you can help build up the Mentorship WG to assist all CNCF projects, mentors, and mentees. We'll also introduce a new regional program, He Waka Eke Noa/HWEN, which is helping New Zealand and Maori students get involved in cloud native without leaving home. This program can serve as a model for new ways to recruit non-traditional contributors. You'll learn what you need to get started or become more successful in your project mentorship efforts.

Conference:  KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2021

Authors: Ihor Dvoretskyi, Kunal Kushwaha, Uchechukwu Obasi, Divya Mohan

2021-10-14

The CNCF community has proven that open source is for everyone and every contribution counts. To support this statement, there have been numerous opportunities provided by the CNCF community to get more young people and new contributors get involved in the project. Namely, GSoC, GSoD, LFX Mentorship programs, CROSS, Outreachy. Although, the problem of lack of awareness about these opportunities still exists. As well all saw, over 69% of the attendees were first-timers, and many students joined as well. This panel consists of ex-CNCF mentees & CNCF program managers. They are going to share their experiences & tips, regarding how they got started with CNCF, their journey with the internship opportunities & mentorship programs. In addition to that, viewers would also learn how to get started with CNC projects, right from picking an organisation, to making their first contributions. In the end, the panel will share some community best practices and resources.