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Google Summer of Code: Student Motivations and Contributions

Jefferson O. Silva, Igor Wiese, Daniel M. German, Christoph Treude, Marco A. Gerosa, Igor Steinmacher

TL;DR

This study investigates why students participate in Google Summer of Code (GSoC) and how these motivations relate to long-term OSS contributions. It employs a mixed-methods design combining surveys of 141 students and 53 mentors with ten follow-up interviews across 2010–2015 to identify motivating factors and their interrelations. The authors find that work experience and career-building are primary motivators, with stipends and learning also playing substantial roles, while long-term retention remains limited for most participants. The work offers practical guidance for OSS projects, organizers, and universities on designing rewards, pre-entry onboarding, and credit-bearing opportunities to enhance participation and potential retention. These findings contribute to understanding incentive structures in short-term OSS engagement programs and their impact on future contributions.

Abstract

Several open source software (OSS) projects expect to foster newcomers' onboarding and to receive contributions by participating in engagement programs, like Summers of Code. However, there is little empirical evidence showing why students join such programs. In this paper, we study the well-established Google Summer of Code (GSoC), which is a 3-month OSS engagement program that offers stipends and mentors to students willing to contribute to OSS projects. We combined a survey (students and mentors) and interviews (students) to understand what motivates students to enter GSoC. Our results show that students enter GSoC for an enriching experience, not necessarily to become frequent contributors. Our data suggest that, while the stipends are an important motivator, the students participate for work experience and the ability to attach the name of the supporting organization to their resumés. We also discuss practical implications for students, mentors, OSS projects, and Summer of Code programs.

Google Summer of Code: Student Motivations and Contributions

TL;DR

This study investigates why students participate in Google Summer of Code (GSoC) and how these motivations relate to long-term OSS contributions. It employs a mixed-methods design combining surveys of 141 students and 53 mentors with ten follow-up interviews across 2010–2015 to identify motivating factors and their interrelations. The authors find that work experience and career-building are primary motivators, with stipends and learning also playing substantial roles, while long-term retention remains limited for most participants. The work offers practical guidance for OSS projects, organizers, and universities on designing rewards, pre-entry onboarding, and credit-bearing opportunities to enhance participation and potential retention. These findings contribute to understanding incentive structures in short-term OSS engagement programs and their impact on future contributions.

Abstract

Several open source software (OSS) projects expect to foster newcomers' onboarding and to receive contributions by participating in engagement programs, like Summers of Code. However, there is little empirical evidence showing why students join such programs. In this paper, we study the well-established Google Summer of Code (GSoC), which is a 3-month OSS engagement program that offers stipends and mentors to students willing to contribute to OSS projects. We combined a survey (students and mentors) and interviews (students) to understand what motivates students to enter GSoC. Our results show that students enter GSoC for an enriching experience, not necessarily to become frequent contributors. Our data suggest that, while the stipends are an important motivator, the students participate for work experience and the ability to attach the name of the supporting organization to their resumés. We also discuss practical implications for students, mentors, OSS projects, and Summer of Code programs.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 44 sections, 6 figures, 3 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. RQ1
  3. RQ2
  4. Background and Related Work
  5. Google Summer of Code
  6. Summer of Code Programs
  7. Motivation
  8. Newcomers' Onboarding
  9. Research Method
  10. Contact information collection
  11. Questionnaire design and administration
  12. Analysis of survey responses
  13. Semi-Structured Interviews
  14. Sample Characterization
  15. Demographic information about mentors
  16. ...and 29 more sections

Figures (6)

  • Figure 1: Research Method
  • Figure 2: Students' assessment of motivation factors for participating in GSoC
  • Figure 3: Surveyed students' motivation count in a graph (a) and in a Venn diagram (b). Career building (Q1); contribute to OSS (Q2); peer recognition (Q3); stipends (Q4); technical challenge (Q5)
  • Figure 4: Contribution frequency to OSS Before and to the GSoC projects After the program. Students' count (%).
  • Figure 5: Mentors' perception on the students' motivation for entering GSoC
  • ...and 1 more figures