PDT/StudentsProgram2009FAQ

Eclipse PHP Development Tools (PDT) Students Program Frequently Asked Questions

About

What is Eclipse PDT Students Program?

Eclipse PHP Development Tools (PDT) Student Program is a global program that offers student developers stipends to contribute code for the Eclipse PDT project. Through this program, accepted student applicants are paired with a mentor or mentors from the Eclipse community, thus gaining exposure to real-world software development scenarios in areas related to their academic pursuits. In turn, the Eclipse PDT project can more easily identify and bring in new developers. Best of all, more source code is created and released for the use and benefit of all.

What are the goals of this program?

1. Get more open source code created and released for the benefit of all
2. Inspire young developers to begin participating in open source Eclipse PDT development
3. Help our project identify and bring in new developers and committers
4. Provide students the opportunity to do work related to their academic pursuits during the summer

Is this program a recruiting program?

Not really.

How many students does this program to take part in the program

We funded 3 student projects this year.

When can I apply for Google Summer of Code?

The student application period begins Monday, June 15, 2009 and ends Friday, July 31st. For full details, see the program timeline.

How does the program work?

Here are the steps:

1. Mentors and Students submit project proposals online to work with particular mentoring organizations.
2. The Eclipse PDT community rank student proposals and perform any other due diligence on their potential mentees; student proposals are matched with a mentor
3. Students are notified of acceptance
4. Students begin learning more about Eclipse PDT and their before coding work starts
5. Students begin coding work at the official start of the program, provided they've interacted well with the PDT community up until the program start date
6. Mentors and students provide mid-term progress evaluations
7. Mentors provide a final evaluation of student progress at close of program; students submit a final review of their mentor and the program

Student submit their work to a bugzilla issue.

How do evaluations work?

We will pre-publish the evaluation questions for both students and mentors. Mentors will fill out mid-term and final evaluations for their students. Students will fill out a mid-term and final evaluation of their mentors online as well.

Applying to Eclipse PDT Students program

What is an "Ideas" list?

An "Ideas" list should be a list of suggested student projects. This list is meant to introduce contributors to the project's needs and to provide inspiration to would-be student applicants.

Keep in mind that our Ideas list is a starting point for student applications; some of the best student projects are those that greatly expanded on a proposed idea or were blue-sky proposals not mentioned on the Ideas list at all.

How does a student apply?

Students can submit their applications via the Google Summer of Code 2009 site from March 23 - April 3, 2009. We hear almost universally from our mentoring organizations that the best applications they receive are from students who took the time to interact and discuss their ideas before submitting an application, so make sure to check out each organization's "Ideas" list to get to know a particular open source organization better.

What should a student application look like?

Your application should include the following: your project proposal, why you'd like to execute on this particular project, and the reason you're the best individual to do so. Your proposal should also include details of your academic, industry, and/or open source development experience, and other details as you see fit. An explanation of your development methodology is a good idea, as well. If the organization you want to work with has a specific application template they would like you to use, it will be made available to you to fill in when submitting your proposal via the GSoC web app.

Can a student submit more than one application?

Yes, each student may submit up to twenty applications. However, only one application will be accepted. We've heard from our mentoring organizations that quality is better than quantity.

Can students already working on an open source project continue to work on it as part of Google Summer of Code?

Yes, as long as they meet all other requirements for program eligibility. Students should be sure to note their previous relationship with the project in their applications. New work will need to be done for the project as part of participation in GSoC.

Should students begin working on their applications before Google begins accepting program applications?

That's up to you. Keep in mind, though, that our mentoring organizations will be publishing a list of proposed project ideas, so you may find that you'll want to revamp your application later, or create an entirely new one to address one of those ideas.

Can a student work on more than one project?

No, each participant is only eligible for one stipend.

Can a group apply for and work on a single proposal?

No, only an individual may work on a given project. Of course, students should feel free to collaborate with others to accomplish their project goals.

What happens if two students are accepted to work on the same project, e.g. from an organization's "Ideas" list?

That's fine, a little duplication is par for the course in open source.