Student selection process

Introduction

This page aims to summarise the student selection process we developed at the 8.5.13 meeting.

This will be subject to discussion for a limited period, after which we will make an official statement.

Our goal is to come to an agreement by Sunday 12th May 12pm.

In order to avoid an overwhelming amount of applications that we would not be able to process, we want to split the selection process into several steps in order to filter the applications. There will also be a number of rules that the application should follow.

Once we're done discussing this, we will explain the process on a page on our website.

Web page intro paragraph

Student registrations for Rails Girls Summer of Code are open! We now invite all to apply for the program who:

• attended at least one Rails Girls or similar Ruby introduction workshop.
• expanded their Ruby skills after the workshop in a study group or independently by working on a Ruby project.
• can spend at least two and ideally three months this summer working on the project.
• have found another student to pair up with and a coach (we can help with that).

An ideal group to apply would consist of two students (who will both be paid) and one or more coaches (who won't be paid).

The Process

1. Find a pair and a coach

Before you can apply to the Rails Girls Summer of Code you need to find

• a coach that is able to support you throughout the project as well as,
• ideally, another student who you'd pair-program with.

It is not a requirement to find a pair, but you will have a higher chance of being accepted.

Coaches should have sufficient time throughout the project in order to support you well. What exactly that means will depend largely on your skills, the project, and other factors, so you'll need to discuss this with your pair and coach. It probably should at least be a few hours a day, more in the beginning of the project, probably less near the end. The more time they have the better. If they're not able to do this alone it is fine if coaches team up.

Talk to them and figure out how to make sure that throughout the project:

• You have a good place to work (ideally a desk next to your coach).
• They can support you well and have enough time (please try to be more specific and know the hours / days when they can help).

The best starting point for finding a pair and coach is to contact your local Rails Girls and Ruby communities. Ask on the Rails Girls Summer of Code community mailing list. Ask on Twitter.

You are responsible for finding your pair and coach, but we will do our best to help.

2. Submit your application with your pair and coach

Please meet with your pair and coach(es). You should feel comfortable working with them closely for 3 months.

Together with you and your pair, coaches are supposed to:

• interview you both about the level of your expertise.
• make recommendations and preferences about projects.

Once all of you have made sure that you meet the requirements you can submit your application.

3. Selection (ranking)

The deadline for the application is set on the 12th of June.

We will make sure that all the applications meet all the requirements.

The goal of Rails Girls Summer of Code is to get you in touch with the Open Source community and allow you to take your first steps in contributing to it. This will be a learning process for you, but we also want to make sure that you have a good chance at succeeding with this.

Therefore we will favour applications based on these criteria:

• you are a women. (This initiative is focused on bringing more women into the world of open source. Men are not excluded, however women are given priority.)
• you have a sufficient experience level.
• you can do 3 months rather than less.
• your coach has enough time available to guide you.
• you have a pair.
• you have been favorited by a project maintainer or mentor.
• you have been favorited by a coach who's working for a sponsor's company.

About the last two criteria: Maintainers/mentors as well as sponsors who provide coaches will get to name their favorite coach/student teams and might be involved in the selection process. However they do not have the main say, them favoriting teams will be one criteria amongst others, and this will fairly be discussed with the coaches and organizers.

The committee will rank your application based on these criteria. Applications that meet them the most will make it into the final stages.

If we end up with more suitable students than places, we will have to do a random draw.

The Rules

If you apply, please make sure to follow these rules:

1. You need a coach (we can help there) or a team of coaches.
2. You need to be able to work full-time for at least two months, even better three.
3. Your coach needs to be available for support for a sufficient amount of time (at least a few hours per day).
4. You should have a workplace where you can work comfortably and find your coach's support easily. Ideally sitting next to them.
5. You should have attended at least one Rails Girls workshop (or an equivalent like RailsBridge).
6. You need a certain amount of programming experience in Ruby, so you should at least have worked independently or in a study group on a Ruby project. Please provide concrete examples of what you've done e.g. code examples, Github Account.
7. You should not already be a professional Ruby developer.