A new journey with openSUSE

Hey there! I’m so excited to share my very first blog post as a participant in Google Summer of Code (GSoC), with openSUSE. First off, please allow me to introduce you to GSOC.

GSoC:

Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is a program that brings together tech enthusiasts from around the world to collaborate on open-source software projects for 3-4 months. As GSoC participants, we have the opportunity to work on real projects used globally, all while being guided by experienced mentors. Oh, and did I mention there's financial support for contributors too? Talk about a win-win situation! Now let's talk about how I got here.

Application:

I was wrapping up my internship with Outreachy, feeling elated by the experience. Little did I know that another thrilling adventure was waiting for me just around the corner—GSoC! Fortunately, my remarkable mentor Marina (who mentored me during Outreachy) was also participating as a mentor in GSoC.

Curiosity piqued, I checked out the project she was mentoring, as well as projects of other participating open-source organizations until I found a project that aligned with my interests and skills. I reached out to the project mentors (Marina Latini & Can Bulut Bayburt), eagerly expressing my interest, discussing my ideas, and seeking their valuable suggestions on how to proceed. To prove my commitment, I made some contributions to the project. Finally, I wrote a detailed project proposal outlining my plans, timeline, and deliverables which I submitted through the GSoC website.

Community:

I’m currently contributing to Uyuni which is a project of the openSUSE organization. Uyuni is an open-source systems management solution for managing and administering Linux systems, such as software package management, system provisioning, configuration management, and monitoring. For the next few months, my focus will be on improving the web UI accessibility of Uyuni.

Project

Now, let's delve into the heart of the matter, my project. Web accessibility is all about ensuring everyone has equal access to the content on the web, regardless of their disabilities. In addition to it making a website visually appealing, it creates an inclusive and usable experience for everyone including individuals with disabilities. This particular project holds a special place in my heart, mainly because I have friends who face challenges when using the internet because of their disabilities. Witnessing their challenges in accessing and navigating web content motivated me to select this project. I want to play my part in ensuring that everyone, no matter their disabilities, can have a good experience using the internet.

Progress

Talking about the progress so far, we recently wrapped up the Community Bonding phase which was after the selected projects and interns were announced. During this period, I got to know my mentors and the Uyuni community better. I had the opportunity to have meaningful discussions and dive deeper into the project details. It was a time for me to prepare my development environment for the exciting work ahead. Now that the community bonding period has ended, we are proceeding to the next stage—the official coding period where we start working on our proposed projects with the guidance of our mentors.

I'm really excited about this project and eagerly looking forward to what lies ahead. So, keep an eye on my blog posts where I'll be sharing my progress and experiences, so you can follow along and learn more about the cool things we're doing. Stay tuned!