OSS Programs
27 programs • Open source internships & mentorships
Google Summer of Code
International program where contributors 18+ are paid by Google to work on open source projects over the summer with mentoring organizations worldwide.
Global (Remote)
10 to 22 weeks
Varies by country and project (typically $1,500–$6,600 USD)
Org list Jan–Feb; applications Mar–Apr; coding May–Aug
Outreachy
Diversity-focused program offering paid remote internships in open source and open science for people from groups underrepresented in technology.
Global (Remote)
3 months
$7,000 USD internship stipend (plus travel support for some)
Two rounds per year: May–Aug and Dec–Mar
MLH Fellowship
Remote fellowship where students and early-career developers work on real-world open source or production code in small teams (pods) with mentors.
Global (Remote)
12 weeks
Paid; up to about $5,000 USD depending on location and track
Three batches each year: Spring, Summer, Fall
Linux Foundation Mentorship Program
Mentorship program that matches contributors with maintainers on Linux Foundation projects including the Linux kernel, cloud-native, networking and more.
Global (Remote)
12 weeks
Stipend tiers based on region; usually in the low thousands of USD
Multiple terms per year (Spring, Summer, Fall)
Summer of Bitcoin
Global online program that introduces university students to Bitcoin open source development and design with experienced mentors in the ecosystem.
Global (Remote)
12 weeks
Stipend paid in bitcoin (roughly similar to GSoC levels)
Student applications around Jan–Feb; program runs May–Aug
European Summer of Code
Program that funds interns to work on applied AI and open source research projects with European organizations and research hubs.
Europe (Remote participation often open)
About 3 months per project
Stipend provided by host organization; amount varies by project
Projects released in batches around Mar–Apr
Season of KDE
KDE community's mentorship program (similar in style to GSoC) supporting both code and non-code contributions such as design, documentation, websites, and translation.
Global (Remote)
About 3 months
Unpaid (certificates and KDE swag only)
Most editions run roughly January to April
Processing Foundation Fellowship
Fellowships that support individuals or small teams building creative coding projects with Processing, p5.js and related software (art, education, social justice themes).
Global (Remote)
4-5 months
$10,000 USD per fellowship
Summer, June–October
Igalia Coding Experience Program
Summer program by Igalia giving newcomers experience working on open source web engines, browsers, and graphics projects (Chromium, WebKit, Mesa, etc.).
Global (Remote)
Around 12 weeks
Paid internship-style grant (exact amount varies)
Usually runs during summer; applications some months before
FOSSEE Summer Fellowship
Internship and fellowship program at IIT Bombay where students work on Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects used in engineering and science education.
India
6 to 8 weeks
Honorarium paid on successful completion (amount depends on project and performance)
Screening tasks around Jan; project work usually May–Jul
Google Summer of Earth Engine
Pilot program (historical) for Indian students to work on Earth Engine based environmental and geospatial projects with research organizations.
India
About 3 months
Paid stipend plus certificate and swag
Held in 2019 (June–August); currently historical
Summer of Nix
NixOS Foundation program where participants work in remote teams to improve the Nix ecosystem, package free and open source software, and contribute to NGI initiatives.
Global (Remote)
Around 13 weeks
Base stipend about 3000 EUR for EU residents (adjusted by purchasing power parity for other countries)
Applications Apr–Jun; project work Jul–Oct
Redox Summer of Code
Redox OS program that uses project donations to fund students and contributors to work on the Redox operating system and its ecosystem (Rust systems programming).
Global (Remote)
Varies by project; often similar to a summer term
Amount varies; paid from donations and negotiated per project
Northern hemisphere summer (exact dates agreed individually with mentors)
Advent of Code
Annual December programming puzzle event with daily challenges. A fun way to practice problem-solving and learn new languages during the holidays.
Global (Remote)
25 days
No prizes — learning-focused (leaderboard and personal satisfaction)
December 1–25, annual
Open Source Promotion Plan (OSPP)
Program by the Chinese Academy of Sciences encouraging college students worldwide to participate in the development and maintenance of open source software.
Global (strong focus on Chinese projects)
~3 months
CNY 8,000–12,000 (approx $1,100–1,700 USD; varies by difficulty)
Summer (June–September)
JGEC Winter of Code
Winter open source program by Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College (JWoC) aimed at introducing students to open source development.
India
~1-2 months
No stipend (certificates provided)
December–January
Open Mainframe Project Mentorship
Mentorship for mainframe and COBOL projects (including Zowe, z/OS) under the Linux Foundation. Part of the LFX Mentorship platform.
Global (Remote)
12-24 weeks
3000-6600 USD via LFX (location-based)
Part of LFX Mentorship schedule (multiple batches)
Linux Kernel Mentorship
Structured mentorship opportunity for developers to contribute to the Linux kernel (requires strong C skills). Part of LFX Mentorship.
Global (Remote)
12-24 weeks
3000-6600 USD (via LFX)
Multiple terms aligned with LFX schedule
Apertre 2.0
30-day open source event organized by the Resourcio Community. Beginner-friendly with prizes, swags, and an environmental focus (plant a tree for contributions).
India
30 days
20K INR prizes + swags
March 7 – April 5 (annual)
DMP by C4GT Code for GovTech
Dedicated Mentoring Program by Code for GovTech (C4GT) focused on building open source digital public goods and government tech projects in India.
India
2-3 months
1,00,000 INR (~$1,200 USD)
June–August
Hacktoberfest
A global month-long celebration of open source run by DigitalOcean. Developers of all levels contribute to open source projects and earn digital badges, swag, and tree plantings.
Global (Remote)
1 month
Digital badge, tree planted, swag (for completing the required PRs)
October (every year)
CNCF Mentorship
Structured mentorship for contributors to work on cloud-native projects such as Kubernetes, Prometheus, Envoy and 100+ other CNCF projects (often via LFX).
Global (Remote)
12-24 weeks
$3,000–$6,600 USD
Spring, Summer, Fall (aligned with LFX schedule)
IIIT Kalyani Winter of Code
Open source initiative organized by GDSC IIIT Kalyani to help students get started with open source development.
India
1-2 months
Certificates
December–January
Build for Bharat Fellowship
Fellowship focused on building digital public infrastructure for India. Involves design, data, and GIS projects for government applications.
India
6 months
40K INR/month
January–June 2026 (check current cycle)
GitHub Campus Experts
Leadership program for university students who want to establish and expand tech communities on their campuses. Participants gain public speaking, leadership skills, and GitHub resources.
Global (Remote)
Ongoing
Swag, resources, training (no direct cash stipend)
Year-round (applications open periodically)
24 Pull Requests
Yearly initiative to encourage developers to give back to open source during the holiday season by submitting 24 pull requests between December 1st and 24th.
Global (Remote)
24 days
Swag and recognition
December 1–24 (annual)
FOSSASIA Codeheat
Coding contest for FOSSASIA projects. Contributors win prizes and recognition by making contributions to FOSSASIA's open source software (continuous/periodic cycles).
Global (Remote)
Continuous / periodic (often 2-month cycles)
Prizes (periodic)
Year-round with multiple cycles