The Outreachy Internship: Your Essential Guide

1. Introducing Outreachy

   Outreachy (formerly known as Free and Open Source Software Program for Women) is a paid, remote internship program. Its goal is to support people from groups underrepresented in tech. The underrepresented groups include people who face systematic bias like women, transgender, people of color, age, people from historically disadvantaged castes or tribes and so on.

   Interns are paid a stipend of USD 7,000 for the three-month internship. Interns work with mentors from the Open Source community. People apply From anywhere around the world. This internship is open to programmers and non-programmers alike.

2. Applying to Outreachy

To be a part of this opportunity, visit the Outreachy website to create an account before applying. Join the announcement mailing list for an email when the application period opens.

Figure 1: Clicking the above image takes you to the "Create Account" page.

There are three (3) main parts to the Outreachy application process. They are:

1. Initial Application

2. Contributing to Projects

3. Final Application

Take the following steps to apply:

1. Check eligibility to apply for Outreachy

Go through the eligibility rules before filling out the initial application.

Applicants are expected to have the following documents/information before filling out the application:

• For university students: Have your academic calendar.

• If you are taking online classes: Find the calendar for your online classes

• If you are in a coding school: Find the calendar for your cohort

• If you are(will be) employed: Find your employment contract with the number of hours per week required

• If you are a self-employed contractor: Find the average number of invoiced hours over the past six months

The initial application is to know if you will be eligible for the internship program by answering some essay questions.

The essay questions are as follows:

1. What country will you be living in from May 27, 2024, to August 23, 2024? (The date is subject to change due to which cohort you are applying to)

2. Are you part of an underrepresented group (in the technology industry of the country listed above)? How are you underrepresented?

3. What systemic bias or discrimination would you face if you applied for a job in the technology industry of your country?

4. Does your learning environment have few people who share your identity or background?

5. What systemic bias or discrimination have you faced while building your skills?

Essay Tips

These are some tips to help you in writing your essay:

• Essay Length: Essay answers are limited to 1000 characters. 1000 characters is about 200 words. Applicants who are accepted usually write around 500 to 900 characters per essay.

• Essay Content: You will not be asked to provide details about your completed classes, your educational background, or what skills you have.

• Assume readers live in a different culture: When talking about the discrimination you face, assume the reader lives in a different culture than you. Provide background about your culture. You may need to include links to statistics, articles, or blog posts.

• Talking about violence: You do not need to share detailed descriptions of violence. If you talk about violence, please include a content warning in the field.

To get more information about the initial application process, visit the Outreachy Applicant Guide page

2. Select Project(s)

Touch up on skills for contributing to free and open-source software communities while waiting to be selected for the contribution stage.

Successful applicants will be notified of their application status through the email address you used for registering. Your Outreachy account dashboard will also show your application status.

The next step is to pick a project that one of the Outreachy mentors has provided. You will work on this project during the application process, and (if you’re selected) you might continue working on the same project during your three-month internship.

Choose your project(s) wisely!

Figure 2: The experience level and required skills key are highlighted in red rectangle. Experience level and required skills are taken into consideration when choosing project(s).

Decide whether the project is right for you by:

• Introducing yourself to the project's mentor via email or recommended means of communication.

• Joining the project's chat, forums, or mailing list and introducing yourself

• Using or installing the project

• Reading the project's documentation

• Looking at the open issues or feature requests for the project

• Reading Outreachy alums' blogs who worked with that community

Reach out to the mentor assigned to the project you are interested in. Ask and follow up on project-related questions and issues.

3. Make contributions to the project(s) you have chosen

Make at least one contribution to an Outreachy project. Only applicants who contribute will be eligible to be selected as an intern.

Some projects issue trackers that have a tagging system. Mentors may tag tasks that are good for newcomers to the project. Some common tag names are "first patch" "newcomers welcome" "newcomer friendly" or "first issue".

Don't try to make a big, last-minute contribution. Start with a smaller contribution. Then try a more complex contribution. The end goal is to show you have the skills to be a successful intern.

4. Record contributions that are in progress on the Outreachy website

Go to the community landing page linked from the projects listing page. Then click the 'Record Contribution' button. Add links and descriptions to your contributions and the project timeline before the application deadline. You can always go back and edit your recorded contributions. A contribution doesn't have to be merged or accepted to be recorded.

Figure 3: This image shows the section on the Outreachy contribution webpage where you'll record your work (circled in red). (Image source: Outreachy Project contribution page)

5. Complete your final application

Go to the community landing page linked from the projects listing page. Then click the 'Update Contributions and Apply to This Project' button below the project you want to apply for.

Submit a final application to each project you've contributed to. The button to add the final application will only appear once you have recorded at least one contribution.

Also, when applying for May internship rounds, check if there is an opportunity to apply for Google Summer of Code with the same project and complete an application for it as well.

Figure 4: The final application page showing the "Apply for This Project" button (circled in red) and hints on filling out the final application (highlighted in yellow). (Image source: Outreachy Project contribution page)

Figure 5: The questions to be answered in the final application. (Image source: Outreachy application guide)

3. Start Internship

After the contributing and final application stage, the interns are announced. The cohorts or time of the year will determine when your internship will start or finish.

Intern's free time and quality of contribution are some of the factors considered when mentors are choosing interns.

The names of the selected applicants will be available on the Outreachy's alum page.

The image below shows the timeline for each cohort:

Image source: Outreachy Internship calendar

4. Frequently Asked Questions

• Do I have to be a programmer to apply?

Some Outreachy projects are focused on non-programming work. Those projects may involve design, documentation, user experience, marketing, or event planning.

No, you do not need to be a programmer to apply to Outreachy

Check the project skills list for an experience level listing of '1 - No knowledge required'.

• Am I experienced enough?

Outreachy has many different internship projects. Each project will have various skill prerequisites. There will likely be at least one project that matches your skills.

You should fill out an initial application, regardless of your experience level.

When determining whether to apply to a project, you should concentrate on looking at the required skills. If you have experience in at least 1 or 2 needed skills for a project, you are welcome to apply to it. If you do not have the preferred or bonus skills, it is okay to apply.

• Do you have the type of project I'm interested in?

Some applicants are looking for a specific type of project. They may want to find a project that fits their present skills. Sometimes, they want to find a project that will challenge them to learn new skills.

You should fill out an initial application, regardless of whether you see a project you're interested in or not.

Conclusion

Outreachy is a diversity initiative of Software Freedom Conservancy(a nonprofit organization centered around ethical technology). Its goal is to increase diversity in open source.

The application process for Outreachy is longer and might be overwhelming than most internship applications. Applicants should start their application at least 2-3 weeks before the Outreachy application deadline.

If you are new to the free software world. Outreachy is for you! The term "free software" or "open source" means that you have the liberty to use, duplicate, study, modify, and improve a project.

Further Reading

• Outreachy Official site

• Outreachy Application Guide

• Outreachy Internship Guide