Google Summer of Code Application 2021

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Application Status

Accepted as Mentor Org (Updated March 10, 2021)

On-going (OSGeo's application submitted on February 19, 2021)

Timeline: https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/timeline

Old applications

• Based on 2020, 2019,2018, 2017,2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011,2010,2009,2008,2007

Profile

• Name: OSGeo
• Website URL: https://www.osgeo.org
• Tagline: The Open Source Geospatial Foundation
• Logo: compass+text, minimum height of 256px - use https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/File:Osgeo-logo.png
• Primary Open Source License: GNU General Public License version 2.0 (GPL-2.0)
• Organization Category: Other
• Technology Tags (5 max): C/C++, python, sql, database, java
• Topic Tags: Mapping, geolocation, GIS, citizen science, open science
• Ideas List: http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code_2021_Ideas
• Short Description: OSGeo is a non-profit organization serving as an umbrella organization for the Open Source Geospatial community.
• Long Description:

using the recommended "Limited Markdown" syntax:

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to foster global adoption of open geospatial technology by being an inclusive software foundation devoted to an open philosophy and participatory community driven development.

OSGeo serves as an umbrella organization for the Open Source Geospatial community in general and several code projects in particular:
* Web Mapping: deegree, geomajas, GeoMOOSE, GeoServer, Mapbender, MapFish, MapGuide Open Source, MapServer, OpenLayers
* Desktop Applications: GRASS GIS, gvSIG, Marble, QGIS
* Geospatial Libraries: FDO, GDAL/OGR, GEOS, GeoTools, OSSIM, PostGIS
* Metadata Catalogues: GeoNetwork, pycsw
* Content Management Systems: GeoNode
* Community Projects: pgRouting, istSOS, MetaCRS, Opticks, Orfeo ToolBox (OTB), PyWPS, Team Engine, ZOO-Project
* Other (non-code) Projects: GeoForAll (Education and Curriculum), OSGeoLive DVD, Public Geospatial Data

We host regional and international FOSS4G conferences with typical attendance of 500-1100+ geospatial developers, industry and government leaders, and researchers. Our mailing lists collectively go out to ~ 30,000 unique subscribers.

• Application Instructions:

using the recommended "Limited Markdown" syntax:

We have developed a recommendation for students to follow for being successful GSoC candidates. It is available on OSGeo's wiki and can be accessed by following https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code_Recommendations_for_Students. It contains all the useful information including the template for preparing the Proposal and the community’s expectations from the Students. The Student proposal template is also available at the OSGeo's GSoC Github repository and can be accessed by following the link: https://github.com/OSGeo/gsoc/blob/master/proposal_template.md

• Proposal Tags:

Grass GIS, MapMint, PostGIS, pgRouting, QGIS New Feature, Optimization, Web Mapping, Geospatial Desktop, Geospatial Libraries, Geospatial Metadata Catalogue

• Chat Contact Method: https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code_Recommendations_for_Students#How_to_get_in_contact_via_IRC
• Mailing List: https://www.osgeo.org/community/communications/
• General email: gsoc-admin(at)osgeo(dot)org
• Twitter url: https://twitter.com/osgeo
• Blog url: http://planet.osgeo.org/

Questionnaire

• Why does your org want to participate in Google Summer of Code?: The OSGeo is now a veteran GSoC organization (2021 would be our 15th year participating), and it has been a tremendous journey. The previous editions of GSoC for OSGeo have motivated new great developers, as well as GSoC mentors (we have graduated 197 students in total through the GSoC program) to contribute towards the development of open-source geospatial projects. Last year, all the accepted projects successfully completed their objectives, and continuing this spirit, the OSGeo community is excited to take this forward in 2021 by supporting new students and developers in their summer projects. OSGeo, acting as an umbrella organization has also tightened the connection with guest software projects (Open Source projects involved with making maps and geospatial data processing but are not yet officially part of OSGeo). We are highly enthusiastic about our participation in GSoC 2021 and definitely look forward to another geospatial GSoC!

• What would your org consider to be a successful summer?: The OSGeo foundation believes in encouraging contributors to enhance their acumen for working in a team environment, managing different time schedules, understanding community interactions, presenting their work in conferences, and primarily contributing to leading geospatial tools. So, a successful summer for GSoC with OSGeo would comprise of new feature development along with guiding the developers to be future leaders of the open-source geospatial community and open source world, in general.

• How many potential mentors have agreed to mentor this year? 10 - 15

• How will you keep mentors engaged with their students?: The Mentors for OSGeo GSoC projects have significant prior experience of GSoC, either as a past student, as a mentor, or an experienced member of the project community. In order to maintain consistency and availability, 2 mentors are required for every project. Usually, the mentors are regular (code) contributors and/or experts in their field, and are enthusiastic to inspire the students in becoming open source geospatial developers. The weekly report submitted by the students is evaluated by the mentors and the Org Admins regularly. An efficient communication channel exists between students, mentors, and the admins, and all the details are frequently summarised in the openly accessible wiki page (https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code_2021_Administrative) throughout the GSoC timeline.

• How will you help your students stay on schedule to complete their projects?: We have created a student application template for the interested students in participating at the GSoC with OSGeo and it is available at https://github.com/OSGeo/gsoc/blob/master/proposal_template.md. The student application template puts a strong emphasis on the timeline of the project and the expected weekly commitment (in hours) of the student. In order to stick to this timeline, it is important for the students to have a clear picture of the project and divide it into smaller and achievable tasks. After a mentor's evaluation of the projects based on the timeline mentioned, we keep track of the project's progress by evaluating the weekly reports. Based on this, the students can adjust the timeline and their weekly commitment with the help of their mentors. We have published a Google Summer of Code Recommendations wiki for Students and is available online at https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code_Recommendations_for_Students.

• How will you get your students involved in your community during GSoC?: Over the years, the OSGeo foundation has developed into a great community and the students joining the community for GSoC become an inherent part of it. Every participating student is encouraged to share the proposal with the relevant software developer communities for getting feedback and comments about the same. The students are required to send weekly reports to the project developer mailing lists along with the GSoC mailing list for necessary feedback. Prior to the commencement of the Coding period, the Community Bonding period plays a significant role in comforting the student with the development environment and helping them with the work culture of the project community. We aim to foster closer communication by engaging all our students, developers, and community mentors through an accessible osgeo-gsoc channel. Through this we hope to expose students to collaborative problem solving, sharing experiences, and encouraging different perspectives within the open-source geospatial community.

• How will you keep students involved with your community after GSoC?: The student application template includes a "Future development" section in their proposal which inhibits the thought process of students to continue developing for the OSGeo after completion of GSoC. It also provides the developer community with new ideas and scope for developments. Some of the OSGeo projects have been encouraging the students even after GSoC by providing them with reasonable financial support to present their work in the geospatial conferences, especially global FOSS4G conferences and local meetups.

• Has your org been accepted as a mentoring org in Google Summer of Code before? yes
• Which years did your org participate in GSoC?: from 2007 onwards
• What is your success/fail rate per year?

Year: pass/total

 2020: 10/10
 2019: 7/7
 2018: 10/13
 2017: 13/15
 2016: 20/22
 2015: 13/13
 2014: 22/23
 2013: 21/22 
 2012: 20/22 
 2011: 19/21 
 2010: 7/10 
 2009: 17/20 
 2008: 15/19 
 2007: 13/19  

• What year was your project started? 2006

• Where does your source code live? The Open Source Geospatial Foundation is an umbrella organization comprising multiple projects associated with the geospatial domain. Every project has their own repository on various hosts including Github and SVN. Some of the examples include: OSGeo’s GitHub- https://github.com/OSGeo or OSGeo's hosted git https://git.osgeo.org or SVN https://svn.osgeo.org/

• Anything else we should know? The OSGeo foundation is very appreciative of the GSoC, to help give students an introduction to the sharing, fun, and passion throughout Open Source communities. We proudly talk about the GSoC program at our various FOSS4G events and international conferences. We participated in the inaugural GSoD 2019 and also in the Google Code-in which successfully helped in inspiring the young students to craft them as the future leaders of the geospatial industry. And most of all: it's super fun!

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