This is the first post in a series of posts about my experience as an intern in the Outreachy Program. This post is an introduction that highlights some background information about me, the Outreachy Internship, the application process, my motivations for applying for this program, and some pro tips when applying. I hope you will enjoy getting to know me, and you will find the Outreachy related details useful.
Hello World!
My name is Hanan, and I am originally from Libya, where I got my bachelor degree in Electronic Engineering - Control Systems. After being awarded a scholarship from Libya to pursue a master degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo, I moved to Canada. Before residing in Canada, I didn't have any solid programming skills as my background education focused mainly on hardware in general and control systems in particular. During my Waterloo Unversity study, I added some introductory Software Engineering courses and wanted to learn more! I continued working on my software skills online through MOOC courses on Coursera and similar platforms. Finally, I had the means to join a short program in Mobile Solutions Development at a local college in Waterloo, On.
Let the Outreachy journey begins!
I will be writing about my experience as an Outreachy intern with the InterMine Project in later posts. However, this post will be dedicated to sharing some information regarding the program, the application process and some tips to consider when applying.
What is Outreachy!
Outreachy is a program that provides three-month internships to work in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). The program supports diversity in tech and Outreachy expressly invites applicants from underrepresented groups, including women and people of colour.
Anyone who faces systematic bias or discrimination in the technology industry of their country
Outreachy internships run twice a year, May to August and December to March, and internships are completely virtual. Interns are paid a stipend of $5,500 and have a $500 travel stipend available to them. Unfortunately, due to the current pandemic situation, there is a hold on any travel-related activities. Internship projects may include programming, user experience, technical documentation, graphic design, or data science. Interns work with experienced mentors and often find employment after their internship with Outreachy sponsors or jobs that use the skills they learned during their internship.
The application process
Before applying to the program, you will need to meet the following elegibility requirements. Once you determined that you are eligible to apply for the program, you can fill in the initial application.
Tip: Make sure you carefully read the requirements especially if you are a student. Also, your current location may affect which internship round you can apply for.
The application process involves three main steps:
1) Initial application: the initial application includes four essay questions that focus on any discrimination you faced based on your background or identity and any systemic bias you encounter in your learning environment or while building your skills. Once you answered all questions in details, you can submit your initial application to be reviewed. Usually, the review process can take up to five weeks. All successful applicants will be sent an email and will be able to start contributing to projects of their interest.
Start your initial application early. Share your story in your own words and in details.
Use examples and statistics when applicable Make sure you carefully read the essay tips section
2) Contribution phase: during this step, all applicants with accepted initial applications are invited to contribute to the available open-source projects. Pick one or two projects that look interesting to you and start contributing, including adding a new feature, fixing a bug, improving documentation etc.
- Focus on one or two projects instead of trying to contribute to all projects
- Start contributing as soon as possible
- Reach out to mentors for help after reading the contribution guide
- Ask specific and focused questions
- Help other applicants if you can as this is the essence of FOSS!
- It is never about the number of contribution; it is about the quality
- Make sure you carefully read the contribution guidelines and tips section
3) Final application: only applicants who contributed at least once to one of the available projects can submit a final application. Contribution can be recorded on the Outreachy website and submit their final application from there. The final application includes questions related to your background information, time commitment, previous experience with open source communities, and proposed timeline for the project/s you are applying for.
- Record your contributions early
- Work with your mentors to create a solid plan to work on the project, including tasks you will finish weekly.
I applied for this internship because it is a great opportunity to contribute to open-source projects and learn from experts who maintain these projects. This internship will help me improve my technical and communication skills and abilities to work in a team environment while being part of an open-source project.
Stay tuned for more posts about my internship with the InterMine community!
