Re: Google Summer of Code

It seems Alan has covered most points I would raise as well, thanks!
I definitely think you should go for GSOC!

tl;dr: GSOC is definitely worth it - but takes effort also from the
mentor side. Need to describe the bioschemas organization and ideas in a
fresh way to tempt both GSOC organizers and potential students.


Students come in varying skill levels - you might get someone who is
expert in Javascript but have never done JSON before.
It can be really hard if the student have to learn multiple technologies
as well as understanding what your project is actually about. So
anything on the "edge" is usually better - mind you some students really
like diving in.


Note that you need to also present your proposed organization well in
order for it to be picked by GSOC centrally - it's quite competetative
with many hundreds of organizations applying. If accepted you are likely
to just get slots for just 1 or 2 students.

In Apache we are a bit spoilt as a big umbrella organization with long
history of GSOC participation - in theory we could have proposed W3C as
the hosting organization for GSOC - obviously that needs more
coordination in advance :)
(see https://www.w3.org/wiki/GSOC/2015/ from earlier)


But there are lots of small project==organization as well in the GSOC
org list - so then the challenge is how to tempt the students to go
have a look at *your* proposals. They will have heard about Apache,
Debian, Bootstrap, etc; very few students will have heard about
bioschemas - although some will have heard about schema.org.

So that's also where your project ideas come in - tempting the students
(and perhaps the GSOC organizers) with technology they might want to
play with anyway and get on their CV -- for instance we got loads of
interest for Android apps, while nobody wanted to do system integration.

I think there is loads of interest for web apps - and bioschemas using
JSON-LD/schema.org is an obvious fit here -- but what would such a
webapp do?  Perhaps some kind of BioSchemas shopping basket? 

It's good to keep your idea on a wiki page so multiple bioschema folks
can augment it after the GSOC organization has been submitted/selected.

On Fri, 12 Jan 2018 16:40:30 +0000, Alan R Williams <alan.r.williams@manchester.ac.uk> wrote:
> Hello everyone
> 
> Firstly, are you associated with a group that has a history of GSOC 
> funding? Although it is possible to do it on your own, it is much easier 
> to be part of a wider group. For example, Taverna had most of its GSOC 
> students as part of the huge Apache community.
> 
> You need to write some ideas. I hope you can see 
> https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/TAVERNADEV/2016-03+GSOC+2016+Project+Ideas+and+Instructions
> 
> Those are Taverna's from 2016.
> 
> Then, potential students are able to submit their own proposals, which 
> may (or may not) match one of your ideas. There should be interaction 
> with the potential students, answering their questions, setting up 
> communication channels etc. There is a fine line between making sure 
> their proposals are good and practically writing their proposals :-) You 
> need to be helpful but ruthless.
> 
> A student may submit one or more proposals, including to different 
> organizations. We had problems because a potentially very good student 
> decided to do something else instead - boo.
> 
> You then grade the proposals. There is a marking scheme, but there tends 
> to be "grade inflation".
> 
> Google then says "yes" or "no" to the student's proposal; the student 
> then (normally) agrees to do the proposal with you.
> 
> The overall project is split into two halves. You have the chance to 
> reject the student after the first half. You need to be very ruthless as 
> it is a waste of your time (and Google's money) if the student cannot do 
> the work.
> 
> Supervising a student should be time-consuming. Although there is one 
> designated contact, you should probably have at least three people 
> available to answer questions and advise them. It should be a rewarding 
> experience, but is definitely not free effort.
> 
> If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.
> 
> Alan
> 
> P.S. You also get a free T-shirt :-)
> 
> On 12/01/2018 16:21, Carole Goble wrote:
> > 
> > Hi - I have copied in Stian and Alan from my group.
> > 
> > They are very experienced GSoC mentors. Perhaps they can offer some advice
> > 
> > 
> > carole
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On 12/01/2018 16:15, BATISTA Dominique wrote:
> >> I'm new to GSoC too. However, between the experience of individuals 
> >> involved in Bioschemas and the google mentor's guide, I'm sure we will 
> >> figure something out.
> >> A friend of mine from university got foundings from GSoC a few years 
> >> back, so if we don't have anyone who knows about these things, I can 
> >> start by contacting him.
> >>
> >> Regards
> >>
> >> Dominique Batista
> >> Ingénieur Web IFB Core
> >> CNRS - UMS3601
> >> Tel: 01.69.82.46.92
> >> Site: http://www.france-bioinformatique.fr
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> *From:* MICHEL Franck
> >> *Sent:* Friday, January 12, 2018 5:01 PM
> >> *To:* public-bioschemas@w3.org
> >> *Subject:* Re: Google Summer of Code
> >>
> >> Thank you both for your replies. The BuzzBang PoC and the opportunity 
> >> of having students work on it and propose ideas to go ahead from this 
> >> point on seem pretty exciting to me. Please keep sharing this with us.
> >>
> >> Have a nice week-end,
> >>    Franck.
> >>
> >> Le 12/01/2018 à 16:36, Gray, Alasdair J G a écrit :
> >>> Dear Franck
> >>>
> >>> BuzzBang is a prototype implementation of a search system that aims 
> >>> to exploit the bioschemas markup. At the moment it is very limited in 
> >>> the data it contains and how it can exploit that but it is a start in 
> >>> that direction.
> >>>
> >>> I also have not been involved with the summer of code so others will 
> >>> be better placed to answer specific questions. However project 
> >>> descriptions do not need to be detailed and it is expected that the 
> >>> participant would shape the project.
> >>>
> >>> Alasdair
> >>>
> >>> Alasdair J G Gray
> >>> Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
> >>> Assistant Professor in Computer Science
> >>> Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh
> >>>
> >>> www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~ajg33 <UrlBlockedError.aspx>
> >>>
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> *From:* Franck Michel <franck.michel@cnrs.fr>
> >>> *Sent:* Friday, January 12, 2018 2:45:11 PM
> >>> *To:* public-bioschemas@w3.org
> >>> *Subject:* Re: Google Summer of Code
> >>> Dear Alasdair, all,
> >>>
> >>> I've tried to check the buzzbang.science but the site does not work 
> >>> at the moment (internal server error). I did not know about it 
> >>> actually, can you tell us a bit more about it?
> >>>
> >>> Also, I must admit I've never been involved in GSoC before (hope I'm 
> >>> not the only ashamed one on this list ;)). I'm wondering what kind of 
> >>> project you may submit: does this have to be a rather detailed 
> >>> description of what you expect to get in the end, within an existing 
> >>> bigger project etc.? Or can this be just a few lines describing what 
> >>> you envision and ultimately relying on participants to shape it more 
> >>> precisely while bringing new ideas?
> >>>
> >>> If you guys have already been involved, either as student or as 
> >>> mentor, I'd love to read your feed-back about it.
> >>>
> >>> Regards,
> >>>   Franck.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Le 11/01/2018 à 16:54, Gray, Alasdair J G a écrit :
> >>>> Hi All,
> >>>>
> >>>> We would like to propose Bioschemas as a Google Summer of Code 
> >>>> organisation (deadline 23 January 2018).
> >>>> https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/
> >>>>
> >>>> I have started drafting ideas for projects in a google document, 
> >>>> please feel free to add more project ideas or details to my initial 
> >>>> brain dump.
> >>>> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_i2vqUfCy1laVbslVR6kjaRLIUN8Y2nqQIEPT8G68gg/edit
> >>>>
> >>>> Best regards
> >>>>
> >>>> Alasdair, Carole, and Rafa
> >>>>
> >>>> Alasdair J G Gray
> >>>>
> >>>> Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
> >>>> Assistant Professor in Computer Science,
> >>>> School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences
> >>>> (Athena SWAN Bronze Award)
> >>>> Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh UK.
> >>>>
> >>>> Email: A.J.G.Gray@hw.ac.uk <mailto:A.J.G.Gray@hw.ac.uk>
> >>>> Web: http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~ajg33 <http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/%7Eajg33>
> >>>> ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5711-4872
> >>>> Office: Earl Mountbatten Building 1.39
> >>>> Twitter: @gray_alasdair
> >>>>
> >>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> > 
> > -- 
> > Professor Carole Goble CBE FREng FBCS CITP
> > School of Computer Science
> > University of Manchester
> > Manchester, UK
> > 
> > tel: +44 161 275 6195
> > email:carole.goble@manchester.ac.uk
> > twitter: @CaroleAnneGoble
> > PA: Melanie Price<melanie.j.price@manchester.ac.uk>
> > 
> > PLEASE NOTE: I no longer work weekends. You will not get a response.
> > 
> > email etiquette:
> > I get a lot of email and when I travel it gets even more backed up.
> > 
> > - Don't get too upset if my replies are short (seehttp://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1047)
> > - If you don't get a reply within 48 hours there is a good chance the email has scrolled into the distance. If its urgent try again or emailmelanie.price@manchester.ac.uk.
> > If you haven't heard within a week you really should try again.
> > 
> 
>

Received on Friday, 12 January 2018 18:53:43 UTC