PDT/StudentsProgram2009FAQ

Eclipse PHP Development Tools (PDT) Students Program Frequently Asked Questions

About

What is Eclipse PDT Students Program?

Eclipse PHP Development Tools (PDT) Student Program is a global program that offers student developers stipends to contribute code for the Eclipse PDT project. Through this program, accepted student applicants are paired with a mentor or mentors from the Eclipse community, thus gaining exposure to real-world software development scenarios in areas related to their academic pursuits. In turn, the Eclipse PDT project can more easily identify and bring in new developers. Best of all, more source code is created and released for the use and benefit of all.

What are the goals of this program?

1. Get more open source code created and released for the benefit of all
2. Inspire young developers to begin participating in open source Eclipse PDT development
3. Help our project identify and bring in new developers and committers
4. Provide students the opportunity to do work related to their academic pursuits during the summer

Is this program a recruiting program?

Not really.

How many students does this program to take part in the program

We funded 3 student projects this year.

When can I apply for this students program ?

The student application period begins Monday, June 15, 2009 and ends Friday, July 31st. For full details, see the program timeline.

How does the program work?

Here are the steps:

1. Mentors and Students submit project proposals online to work with particular mentoring organizations.
2. The Eclipse PDT community rank student proposals and perform any other due diligence on their potential mentees; student proposals are matched with a mentor
3. Students are notified of acceptance
4. Students begin learning more about Eclipse PDT and their before coding work starts
5. Students begin coding work at the official start of the program, provided they've interacted well with the PDT community up until the program start date
6. Mentors and students provide mid-term progress evaluations
7. Mentors provide a final evaluation of student progress at close of program; students submit a final review of their mentor and the program

Student submit their work to a bugzilla issue.

How do evaluations work?

We will pre-publish the evaluation questions for both students and mentors. Mentors will fill out mid-term and final evaluations for their students. Students will fill out a mid-term and final evaluation of their mentors online as well.

Applying to Eclipse PDT Students program

What is an "Ideas" list?

An "Ideas" list should be a list of suggested student projects. This list is meant to introduce contributors to the project's needs and to provide inspiration to would-be student applicants.

Keep in mind that our Ideas list is a starting point for student applications; some of the best student projects are those that greatly expanded on a proposed idea or were blue-sky proposals not mentioned on the Ideas list at all.

How does a student apply?

Students can submit their applications from June 15 - July 31, 2009.

What should a student application look like?

Your application should include the following: your project proposal, why you'd like to execute on this particular project, and the reason you're the best individual to do so. Your proposal should also include details of your academic, industry, and/or open source development experience, and other details as you see fit. Application template is available to you to fill in when submitting your proposal.

Can a student submit more than one application?

Yes, each student may submit up to three applications. However, only one application will be accepted.

Should students begin working on their applications before accepting program applications?

That's up to you. Keep in mind, though, that we will be publishing a list of proposed project ideas, so you may find that you'll want to revamp your application later, or create an entirely new one to address one of those ideas.

Can a student work on more than one project?

No, each participant is only eligible for one stipend.

Can a group apply for and work on a single proposal?

No, only an individual may work on a given project. Of course, students should feel free to collaborate with others to accomplish their project goals.

Eligibility

Who's eligible to participate as a student in this program?

In order to participate in the program, you must be a student. We define a student as an individual enrolled in or accepted into an accredited institution including (but not necessarily limited to) colleges, universities, masters programs, PhD programs and undergraduate programs. You are eligible to apply if you are enrolled in an accredited pre-university educational program provided you meet all of the other eligibility requirements. Computer Science does not need to be your field of study in order to participate in the program.

You may be enrolled as a full-time or part-time student. You must also be eligible to work in the country in which you'll reside throughout the duration of the program.

What are the eligibility requirements for mentors?

The only criteria for mentors is to be a committer in one of the Eclipse projects.

I graduate in the middle of the program. Can I still participate?

Yes.

How much time is required to participate as a student?

The amount of time you will need depends on both the scope of your project and the requirements of your project. While we may offer some flexibility around milestone completion dates, you should expect your project to be your primary focus this summer. If you have a great internship starting soon or you're planning a month long backpacking trip, you likely won't be a good candidate for the program.

Code

Who owns the code produced by student developers?

License is under | EPL.

Where must development occur?

All development occurs online; there is no requirement to travel as part of the program. we will make no provisions for office space or travel to mentoring locations. Any such travel is undertaken outside the scope of the program.

Payments, Forms and Other Administrivia

How do payments work?

Zend will provide a stipend of 2000 USD or 1000 USD per accepted student developer depending of the size of the project the student participated in.

Accepted students in good standing with their mentoring organization will receive a 500/250 USD stipend shortly after coding begins on July 15, 2009. Students who receive passing mid-term evaluations will receive a 500/250 USD stipend shortly after the mid-term evaluation deadline, August 15, 2009. Students who receive passing final evaluations and who have submitted their final program evaluations will receive a 1000/250 USD stipend shortly after the final evaluation deadline, September 15, 2009. Mentors will receive 100 USD per student shortly after the final evaluation deadline, September 15, 2009.

Isn't it unusual for open source developers to be paid?

Not really. Many of our mentors get paid to work on open source. Some run their own consultancies, others tinker for some cash on the side, others work for large companies. Some profess to code for cotton.

That said, we do know it is tricky to introduce cash into the mix of Free and Open Source, but that is why we're working with external organizations with years of collective experience in this kind of thing.