Microkernel devrom as an umbrella organization in GSoC 2017

[Norman Feske]

Hi Jakub,

that's a very cool initiative!

I like that the umbrella approach may create a good incentive for
collaborating more closely. For example, we could explicitly encourage
applicants to pursue topics that somehow build bridges between projects
and thereby improve our general sense of community.

Your idea would also further manifest the devroom as an institution. ;-)

Cheers
Norman

On 20.01.2017 10:42, Jakub Jermář wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I originally wanted to bring this up at FOSDEM, but since the
> applications for the mentoring organizations to GSoC 2017 have already
> opened [1], I am expediting my question.
> 
> <TL;DR>
> Do you think that the microkernel projects that meet in the Microkernel
> devroom at FOSDEM every year, could and should try to do the Google
> Summer of Code 2017 together under the umbrella of the Microkernel devroom?
> </TL;DR>
> 
> To me this makes perfect sense. Let me elaborate. In the past the
> individual projects had mixed luck with being accepted into GSoC. While
> the reasons for not accepting a project in any given year may differ
> from project to project, I think the underlying reason is that there
> would simply be too many mentoring organizations representing operating
> system projects in general, and also too many microkernel operating
> system projects in particular. Instead, I think the trend should be to
> reduce the number of these mentoring organizations and group the
> projects under a single umbrella organization. For microkernels this
> umbrella organization could be the Microkernel devroom.
> 
> I have the impression that Google strongly prefers umbrella
> organizations over small individual projects such as ours. I simply
> believe we have bigger chance to get in together as an umbrella
> organization than as individual projects (even though that is, of
> course, possible too).
> 
> Some of you already use an umbrella organization to have basically a
> guaranteed access to the GSoC, but why not support this idea anyway and
> have your ideas list linked from two umbrella organizations?
> 
> The Microkernel devroom is an already established common entity
> promoting our common cause. Let us use its auspices also for Google
> Summer of Code and, in case of success, also the GSoC Mentor Summit.
> 
> I am now predominantly interested in general feedback on this idea
> rather than jumping straight into technicalities of how to divide
> students and such. So do people like this idea? Should we proceed with it?
> 
> [1]
> https://opensource.googleblog.com/2017/01/now-accepting-organization-applications.html
> 
> Kind regards,
> Jakub
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> microkernel-devroom at lists.fosdem.org
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> 


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Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske
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