@Credit - Kannupriya Kalra, Adrien Piquerez, Scala Center

The Community Bonding Period of Google Summer of Code (GSoC) was an exciting time that marked the official beginning of my journey as a contributor with the Scala Center.

This phase, from May 8 to June 1, was all about getting comfortable with the project, connecting with mentors and fellow contributors, and preparing for the coding phase ahead.

📚 Learning with Rock the JVM

One of the best parts of this bonding period was accessing the Rock the JVM courses. Even though I had semester exams going on and couldn't be too active in group discussions, I still made time to explore the Scala at Light Speed course, along with the Scala 3 New Features module.

This course gave me a stronger grip on the language, especially the parts I hadn’t fully mastered earlier. It’s very beginner-friendly, well-structured, and helped me revise key concepts and understand the deeper logic behind Scala’s design.

I’m really thankful to Daniel Ciocîrlan, the Rock the JVM team, and my mentors for encouraging this learning process — it made a huge difference.

Scala at light speed

Scala 3 New Features

Scala 3 & Functional Programming Essentials

🧑‍💻 Meeting Fellow Contributors

During this period, I also got to meet other contributors selected under the Scala Center organization. While I couldn’t be very active due to academic commitments, I made sure to catch up on all conversations, announcements, and shared resources. It was exciting to see people from around the world coming together to work on different parts of Scala's ecosystem.

Even in those brief interactions, it was inspiring to learn about everyone’s backgrounds, interests, and project ideas. It reminded me how open source is truly a global, welcoming space.

🔍 Getting Familiar with the Project

I took time to slowly go through the Scaladex codebase and understand how things are structured. Reading documentation and exploring previous issues helped me get clarity on the goals of my project — Scaladex Compiler Plugin Support. This gave me confidence and direction for when I start the actual coding phase.

My mentors, Kannupriya Kalra and Adrien Piquerez, were super supportive. They appreciated my efforts and guided me patiently whenever I had doubts or shared updates.

🗓️ GSoC Worklog & Progress Tracker

To stay organized and transparent throughout my GSoC journey, I’ve created a dedicated Worklog using GitHub Projects.

This board tracks everything — from setup to implementation — including:

🛠️ Tasks under Backlog, Ready, In Progress, and Done
📌 Weekly goals and milestones
📚 Learning updates (like Rock the JVM progress)
🧩 Issues encountered and how they were resolved

You can follow my detailed progress here:
🔗 My GSoC Worklog & Progress Tracker

As the bonding period ends, I feel more prepared, connected, and excited to dive into the actual development phase of GSoC. I’ve learned a lot already and can’t wait to build, contribute, and grow even more from here! 🚀

📚 How to Start Your Own GSoC Journey

If you want to try GSoC, here are some tips from my experience:

Start Early:
Explore the organizations and understand their projects well before applying.
Join Community Chats:
Ask questions and introduce yourself. Most communities are welcoming!
Make Small Contributions:
Fix a typo, improve docs, or write tests. This shows you’re serious and helps you learn.
Write a Clear Proposal:
Explain what you want to do, how, and why it matters.

If you’re new and want more help, check out these videos — they explain GSoC simply:

🔗 Useful Links:

🔸 My GSoC Project: Scaladex Compiler Plugin Support

🔸 GitHub: github.com/vidishagawas121

🔸 LinkedIn: Vidisha Gawas

🔸 Discord: reader_83216

🔸 Previous Post: Before GSoC: My Open Source Journey Begins

🔸Scala Discord Channel: Discord channel link

✨Community Bonding Experience at GSoC 2025 🤝

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