Python project contributors and student enthusiasts, mark your calendars: Google Summer of Code applications open soon!

Google Summer of Code is an annual, global program pairing student developers with mentors in open source projects for paid summer internships.

You can learn more about this year's Google Summer of Code here.

Python projects

Python serves as an umbrella organization for around a dozen open source Python projects each year. This year, the following projects are participating:

• CPython: core Python and the standard library

• GNU Mailman: the ubiquitous mailing list package

• Mercurial: a distributed source control management tool 

• BinPy: a platform for building circuit-based applications or logical games

• Vispy: high-performance interactive visualizations

• TARDIS-SN: supernova radiative transfer in Python

• SunPy: Python for solar physics

• Scrapy: a fast, high-level screen scraping and web crawling framework

• Theano: an optimizing compiler for numpy.ndarray andscipy.sparse matrix

• Kivy: a library for making cross-platform, multi-touch apps

• MNE-Python: a software package for processing MEG and EEG data

• scikit-image: a collection of algorithms for image processing

• scikit-learn: a Python module for machine learning

• PyDy: a package for studying multibody dynamics with Python

• SciPy and NumPy: open-source software for mathematics, science, and engineering

• AstroPy: a community Python library for astronomy

Students

Google Summer of Code is a paid summer internship program for college/university students who will be 18 years of age or older on April 21, 2014. Participating in Google Summer of Code is a great way to develop real-world software engineering skills while giving back to an open source Python project you love.

Read more about eligibility in the FAQ.

If you are interested in participating in Google Summer of Code under the Python umbrella, it's time to start exploring potential projects and practicing the tools of open source development:

1. Read the Python Google Summer of Code guidelines.

2. Review this year's projects and their idea pages.

3. Start practicing the tools of open source development, including:
   

• IRC

• a revision control system like git or svn

• the diff and patch utilities

• bug trackers

If you've never used some of these tools before, don't worry! You have plenty of time to practice. A good resource for getting familiar with these tools is the OpenHatch training missions.

Important deadlines

• March 10: Student application period opens.

• March 21: Student application deadline.

• April 21: Accepted student proposals announced.

Note that the best way to boost your chances of being accepted for Google Summer of Code is to start contributing to a project before you apply. If you have questions about how to get started or just want some friendly encouragement, visit the OpenHatch project and say hello.

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