From 718d97faa227fc6d1b7ccf53623719844c29947d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Valentin Volkl Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:50:52 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 1/5] gsoc: add contributor faq --- _activities/gsoc.md | 2 +- gsoc/faq.md | 36 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 37 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) create mode 100644 gsoc/faq.md diff --git a/_activities/gsoc.md b/_activities/gsoc.md index f2f92838d..22003ff20 100644 --- a/_activities/gsoc.md +++ b/_activities/gsoc.md @@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ The selection process in our organization will be split into two phases. All can ### For Students -If you are interested in the HSF projects, please start by having a look at our [guidelines for students]({{ site.baseurl }}/gsoc/students-guideline.html). +If you are interested in the HSF projects, please start by having a look at our [guidelines for students]({{ site.baseurl }}/gsoc/students-guideline.html) and [frequently asked questions]({{ site.baseurl }}/gsoc/faq.html). New projects for HSF GSoC in 2025 will be published by **February 11**. Meanwhile you can take a look at last year's HSF GSoC [projects]({{ site.baseurl }}/gsoc/2023/index.html#projects-in-2022) since many of those may also propose subjects this year. The student application period will begin on **Mar 24**, but discussions about student project ideas with mentors will take place starting on **February 27**, when the list of accepted Organizations is announced. You are encouraged to monitor this website in order to get acquainted with our projects and be prepared for contacting their mentors. Due to the high number of applicants for CERN-HSF projects, the application period procedure become more formal this year, so please try to follow our guidance. diff --git a/gsoc/faq.md b/gsoc/faq.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..fb7beb4fe --- /dev/null +++ b/gsoc/faq.md @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +--- +title: "HSF GSoC Contributor FAQ" +author: "Valentin Volkl" +layout: default +--- + + +## ![GSOC-Logo]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/GSoC/GSoC-icon-192.png){:height="60px"} HSF GSoC - Frequently Asked Questions by Contributors + + +> How do Contributors typically get started in your organization? Are there any small tasks, papers, or code components I can explore to build credibility and become familiar with your workflows? Can I contribute outside of GSoC? + +It's important to understand that the CERN/HSF organisation is an umbrella organisation, that allows many different open source projects related to particle physics to participate. +So there is no single answer to this, it depends on the individual projects. + +The software used in our field is typically very open, but also very specialised and requires a lot of domain knowledge to contribute to. Be mindful that when trying to contribute as a newcomer you are most likely asking quite some time and effort of the maintainers. The maintainers who do have the time and inclination to mentor will very often come forward and propose a project idea, so if you don't know where to start, we recommend to wait and apply to an interesting project idea on the webpage. That said, all projects value quality contributions and some may have a github presence with issues marked "good first issue" or a contributor's guide. Also take a look at past editions of the programme to see what projects could be interesting for you. + +> Are the project ideas on the websites the only possible topics, or can I propose a new topic? + +It's absolutely possible to write your own proposal, especially if you are already familiar with a project. Our prospective mentors put in quite some effort to come up with good project ideas though, and they are typically the most likely to succeed. +Do make sure you have mentors in mind when you write your own proposal and contact them. Spontaneous submissions to the GSoC website are not likely to succeed. + +> When will the list of projects ideas be announced? + +Project ideas will be added to the website starting in January. You should wait until the contributor application period starts before contacting mentors though. + +> My proposal has been accepted, but my planning has changed due to exams etc. Can the submission deadlines be changed? + +Yes, the GSoC programme is intended to be somewhat flexible, see , just e-mail the HSF GSoC admins. Please co-ordinate with your mentors though, and let us know well before the evaluation window opens - once it opens it cannot be modified anymore. + + +### Note + +See also the general GSoC FAQ by Google: + +For any questions not yet answered, please email hsf-gsoc-admin AT googlegroups com. From 6ae66fcd869c733cf8c626bbc422e4a47376333b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Valentin Volkl Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:55:33 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 2/5] typo --- gsoc/faq.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/gsoc/faq.md b/gsoc/faq.md index fb7beb4fe..aee1f89da 100644 --- a/gsoc/faq.md +++ b/gsoc/faq.md @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Project ideas will be added to the website starting in January. You should wait > My proposal has been accepted, but my planning has changed due to exams etc. Can the submission deadlines be changed? -Yes, the GSoC programme is intended to be somewhat flexible, see , just e-mail the HSF GSoC admins. Please co-ordinate with your mentors though, and let us know well before the evaluation window opens - once it opens it cannot be modified anymore. +Yes, the GSoC programme is intended to be somewhat flexible, see , just e-mail the HSF GSoC admins. Please coordinate with your mentors though, and let us know well before the evaluation window opens - once it opens it cannot be modified anymore. ### Note From d4f010939d883bb6066f5cab2b7301fd78c6e517 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Valentin Volkl Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2025 17:06:16 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 3/5] Update gsoc/faq.md Co-authored-by: Eduardo Rodrigues --- gsoc/faq.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/gsoc/faq.md b/gsoc/faq.md index aee1f89da..ef30361d6 100644 --- a/gsoc/faq.md +++ b/gsoc/faq.md @@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ layout: default > How do Contributors typically get started in your organization? Are there any small tasks, papers, or code components I can explore to build credibility and become familiar with your workflows? Can I contribute outside of GSoC? -It's important to understand that the CERN/HSF organisation is an umbrella organisation, that allows many different open source projects related to particle physics to participate. +It's important to understand that the HSF organization is an umbrella organisation, that allows many different open source projects related to particle physics to participate. So there is no single answer to this, it depends on the individual projects. The software used in our field is typically very open, but also very specialised and requires a lot of domain knowledge to contribute to. Be mindful that when trying to contribute as a newcomer you are most likely asking quite some time and effort of the maintainers. The maintainers who do have the time and inclination to mentor will very often come forward and propose a project idea, so if you don't know where to start, we recommend to wait and apply to an interesting project idea on the webpage. That said, all projects value quality contributions and some may have a github presence with issues marked "good first issue" or a contributor's guide. Also take a look at past editions of the programme to see what projects could be interesting for you. From 07e64875f02a6a68bfc0abab1796cdcc0457f2dd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Valentin Volkl Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2025 17:06:38 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 4/5] Update gsoc/faq.md Co-authored-by: Eduardo Rodrigues --- gsoc/faq.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/gsoc/faq.md b/gsoc/faq.md index ef30361d6..8afaf1977 100644 --- a/gsoc/faq.md +++ b/gsoc/faq.md @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ layout: default It's important to understand that the HSF organization is an umbrella organisation, that allows many different open source projects related to particle physics to participate. So there is no single answer to this, it depends on the individual projects. -The software used in our field is typically very open, but also very specialised and requires a lot of domain knowledge to contribute to. Be mindful that when trying to contribute as a newcomer you are most likely asking quite some time and effort of the maintainers. The maintainers who do have the time and inclination to mentor will very often come forward and propose a project idea, so if you don't know where to start, we recommend to wait and apply to an interesting project idea on the webpage. That said, all projects value quality contributions and some may have a github presence with issues marked "good first issue" or a contributor's guide. Also take a look at past editions of the programme to see what projects could be interesting for you. +The software used in our field is typically very open, but also very specialised and often requires a reasonable level of domain knowledge to contribute to. Be mindful that when trying to contribute as a newcomer you are most likely asking quite some time and effort of the maintainers. The maintainers who do have the time and inclination to mentor will very often come forward and propose a project idea, so if you don't know where to start, we recommend to wait and apply to an interesting project idea on the webpage. That said, all projects value quality contributions and some may have a GitHub presence with issues marked "good first issue" or a contributor's guide. Also take a look at past editions of the programme to see what projects could be interesting for you. > Are the project ideas on the websites the only possible topics, or can I propose a new topic? From aaf7a7a977372e434029787d2b84cc6b58c6f908 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Valentin Volkl Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2025 10:49:05 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 5/5] Apply suggestions from code review MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Co-authored-by: Maciej Szymański --- gsoc/faq.md | 6 +++--- 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/gsoc/faq.md b/gsoc/faq.md index 8afaf1977..5848780b4 100644 --- a/gsoc/faq.md +++ b/gsoc/faq.md @@ -13,14 +13,14 @@ layout: default It's important to understand that the HSF organization is an umbrella organisation, that allows many different open source projects related to particle physics to participate. So there is no single answer to this, it depends on the individual projects. -The software used in our field is typically very open, but also very specialised and often requires a reasonable level of domain knowledge to contribute to. Be mindful that when trying to contribute as a newcomer you are most likely asking quite some time and effort of the maintainers. The maintainers who do have the time and inclination to mentor will very often come forward and propose a project idea, so if you don't know where to start, we recommend to wait and apply to an interesting project idea on the webpage. That said, all projects value quality contributions and some may have a GitHub presence with issues marked "good first issue" or a contributor's guide. Also take a look at past editions of the programme to see what projects could be interesting for you. +The software used in our field is typically very open, but also very specialised and often requires a reasonable level of domain knowledge to contribute to. Be mindful that when trying to contribute as a newcomer you are most likely asking for quite some time and effort of the maintainers. The maintainers who do have the time and inclination to mentor will very often come forward and propose a project idea, so if you don't know where to start, we recommend to wait and apply to an interesting project idea on the webpage. That said, all projects value quality contributions and some may have a GitHub presence with issues marked "good first issue" or a contributor's guide. Also take a look at past editions of the programme to see what projects could be interesting for you. -> Are the project ideas on the websites the only possible topics, or can I propose a new topic? +> Are the project ideas on the website the only possible topics, or can I propose a new topic? It's absolutely possible to write your own proposal, especially if you are already familiar with a project. Our prospective mentors put in quite some effort to come up with good project ideas though, and they are typically the most likely to succeed. Do make sure you have mentors in mind when you write your own proposal and contact them. Spontaneous submissions to the GSoC website are not likely to succeed. -> When will the list of projects ideas be announced? +> When will the list of project ideas be announced? Project ideas will be added to the website starting in January. You should wait until the contributor application period starts before contacting mentors though.