Introduction
Hey everyone, I’m Ritankar, and I’m excited to share my journey into Google Summer of Code 2025 with you all. It wasn’t the easiest path ofc, filled with its fair share of challenges and learning curves, but it turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had so far.
For the GSoC’25 session I am selected for the project Improving Integration of Fossology with SW360 under the organisation SW360 which comes under the parent company Siemens
So, a basic intro on myself, I am currently a sophomore at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Jabalpur, majoring in Computer Science and Engineering. I won’t bore you with a long intro (this blog’s gonna be long enough already 💀), but here’s the gist:
I’m a developer passionate about Decentralisation, Open-Source, and all things Backend and Blockchain. Over the past year, I’ve dabbled in technologies like Go, Rust, Solidity, TypeScript and many more and built everything from Decentralised Applications to Event-Driven Microservices systems using Kafka and RabbitMQ and scalable Backend systems. I’ve also had the chance to contribute to 30+ open-source repositories contributing over 40,000+ lines of code and lead developer sessions as part of my college programming club.
Discover the Google Summer of Code’25
I first heard about Google Summer of Code from my college seniors some of the “legends” who had already cracked it. Our campus has a solid GSoC streak, and naturally, I thought: “If they can do it, why not me?” I was already getting my hands messy with development half-understanding Git, pushing random commits, and copy-pasting errors into Stack Overflow like it was a sport. So I figured, if there’s a way to turn this chaos into something structured (and maybe get paid for it)… sign me up!
Now let’s not lie the ₹2.5 - 3 lakhs stipend definitely caught my attention. As a broke college student with big dreams and an even bigger wish list, the idea of spending my summer coding and earning? That sounded pretty sweet 😎.
Back then, I was just a confused freshman, hopping between dev tutorials, pretending to understand GIT 💀, and getting excited whenever something compiled on the first try. The “oMg gSoC wItH gOoGlE” sparkle was real. But thankfully, things matured from there.
What really sold me on GSoC was the mentorship. The thought of working closely with seasoned Devs on real-world, open-source projects that’s something no tutorial or bootcamp can replicate. Plus, being part of a global community of contributors who genuinely want to build cool, meaningful things? That hit different.
And let’s not forget, the organisations that show up for GSoC aren’t just random weekend projects. Most of them are part of some massive open-source umbrella with roots running deep.
We’re talking about well-established codebases, experienced maintainers with over 15 years in the field, and communities that have supported and guided countless contributors over the years.
The best part? These folks aren’t gatekeepers. They want you to contribute. They want to mentor. And sometimes—just sometimes—if you vibe well enough, you might end up landing more than just a GSoC badge. (Ahem… internship, freelance gig, maybe even a full-time role? 👀 Who knows!)
Honestly, GSoC isn’t just about writing code, it’s about building trust, relationships, and reputation in communities that actually shape the tech we use every day. So yeah, I came for the experience… but I stayed for the people (and maybe, just maybe, the secret hope of one day joining the umbrella org squad 😄).
Eventually, it wasn’t just about the stipend or the brand anymore. It became about learning, growing, and contributing to something bigger than myself.
(But yeah… let’s not kid ourselves, the stipend’s still a very nice bonus 😄.)
The Application Process
GSoC’s application process? Yeah… it’s a bit different. And by different, I mean you don’t even fill out a form at first 😂. No lengthy applications or personal statements right away. You can’t even properly login to the website properly in the first place( a problem unique to me and some other of my peers, idk they used to say my email was not recognisable😭 but yeah it got fixed once the organisation list got released) What you do need to do is start digging through the list of organisations—not the current year’s list (because that drops later), but the previous years’ orgs.
Basically, you scroll through the archives and play a little game of educated guessing:
“Which of these orgs might show up this year too?”
That’s right, you’re basically throwing a dart and hoping your chosen org makes a comeback. So yeah, choose wisely.
💡 Pro tip: Go for organisations that have been consistently showing up year after year. They’re more likely to return, and they usually have better structure and mentoring in place.
For example, I initially picked FOSSology, because it had been part of GSoC for 14 years straight. That kind of track record? Solid bet.
I have explained things more explicitly and in thorough in my video so if you are serious about contributing to GSoC’26 do give the video a watch but if you are here just for the experience this blog will be more than enough for you.
Also don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Pick backup orgs too. Sometimes your first choice doesn’t show up. Sometimes it does, but the project idea doesn’t click. It’s always good to have options.
So yeah, in the early days of the GSoC timeline, don’t expect any fancy emails from Google. You are getting none. You’re pretty much flying solo at this stage but hey, if you’ve made it this far through the blog, you’re already ahead of the curve.
Honestly, my GSoC prep was like a YouTube binge session that got out of hand. I went through countless blogs, videos, and personal experiences some helpful, some… not so much.
One blog had the whole GSoC procedure, but nothing on how to actually pick the right organization. One video explained what GSoC is, but skipped the part where you actually contribute. So yeah, it felt like trying to assemble IKEA furniture with missing pages from the manual. That’s why I decided to put everything together in one place—this blog + a full video walkthrough.
At this stage, it’s all about doing your homework:
- Pick your organization (based on your educated guess 😅)
- Start exploring their codebase
- Join their community channels mailing lists, Discord, IRC, GitHub, whatever they use
- And start contributing
You don’t wait for an invite you show up, ask good questions, and start adding value to the project. Even if you’re not 100% sure your chosen org will make it into GSoC this year, the process of contributing, understanding the repo, and interacting with real-world devs is already a huge win.
So yeah, in short: pick your org, get comfy with their codebase, and treat it like your repo now. Whether it makes it into GSoC or not you’ve already levelled up 💪.
This blog is short and snappy because I know not everyone reading this wants to dive into terminal commands or clone repos. Some of you just want the experience and that’s totally fine!
My Journey
Okay, before I even start talking about my GSoC journey, there’s something super important I need to say:
A huge thank you to my amazing seniors Divij Sharma Sir and Akash Kumar Sah Sir 🙏
They quite literally carried me through this entire process, and here’s how:
- Helped me kickstart the entire thing when I had no clue where to even begin
- Patiently cleared all my silly (and not-so-silly) doubts
- Taught me how to Git rebase like a pro (after watching me mess it up a few times 😅)
- Introduced me to the community and showed me how to actually be a part of it
- Reviewed my proposals thoroughly like seriously, line by line
They didn’t just help they went above and beyond.
I genuinely wouldn’t be writing this without them. Super grateful!
So once I got my basics sorted, I locked in on FOSSology as my main repo to contribute to. And honestly? It was one of the best decisions I made in this whole journey.
I kicked things off with a couple of solid PRs (read: stared at the code for hours before finally hitting “Create Pull Request” 😅).
Soon after, I started joining their bi-weekly dev meetings, which turned out to be way more fun and insightful than I expected.
I began actively engaging with the community not just lurking on the side, but actually asking questions, discussing ideas, and sharing my thoughts.
And the mentors? Absolute gems.
Shaheem, Kaushal, Gaurav and Sushant were super helpful, down-to-earth, and always open to discussions no matter how small or silly the doubt.
Our meetings weren’t just checkbox standups. We talked:
- About PRs to be reviewed and merged
- Upcoming changes and improvements
- Community ideas and long-term vision
- And sometimes just shared random dev rants and laughs 😄
It was such a fruitful, welcoming experience. You felt like a part of something not just a contributor, but a team member. And that, honestly, made all the difference.
My contribution phase kicked off around early November, and yep, I was in it till the very last day. No breaks, no shortcuts just me, my keyboard, and a lot of Git activity 😂
The mentors were too consistently helpful throughout.
Even as the deadline crept closer, they were reviewing PRs, giving feedback, and helping out till the very end. No ghosting, no “we’ll see later”—just consistent support and fast responses.
That kind of energy from the mentors? It really pushed me to give my best and stay committed till the finish line.
As for the unspoken hacks and spicy tips I can’t drop in a public blog (👀), well… that’s what the video’s for (the blog is already a history book i don’t want to make this an encyclopedia 😐). If you are serious about contributing, go give it a watch you’ll thank me later 😏. I’ve broken everything down, from choosing orgs to submitting proposals with all the messy, honest stuff in between. It’ll save you hours of searching (and confusion).
The Twist ?
Okay, so by now you might be wondering:
“Wait… didn’t this guy get selected under SW360? Then why’s he going on and on about FOSSology?”
If you didn’t have that question, are you even reading this blog properly? 😔
So here’s the twist.
About halfway into my “contribution phase,” the FOSSology mentors casually dropped a “Hey, you could also take a look at SW360” and I was like… okaay sure??
Turns out, SW360 and FOSSology are part of one big happy family under the umbrella of Siemens. SW360 is kind of the sibling project, and contributing to either meant helping the broader ecosystem. So yeah, FOSSology ⇄ SW360 contributions were tightly linked.
SW360 was also making its GSoC debut in 2025, with Gaurav as the maintainer which made things even more interesting.
I jumped in, explored the codebase (Java + Spring Boot = good vibes), and pushed a few contributions there too. Really liked the architecture, it was clean, well-documented, and super relevant to what I had already been doing.
That said, my main work and focus stayed with FOSSology. But getting to dip my toes into SW360 gave me a broader understanding of how the two systems connected, I wouldn’t go into the intricate details, think of SW360 as sort of a backend integration layer that worked closely with FOSSology.
So yeah—plot twist resolved. Just two codebases, one community, and a ton of learning ✌️
The Official GSoC Coding Period
It was the last week of February when the official list of GSoC’25 organisations dropped and let me tell you, that moment feels like checking board exam results 😅 You can check out the entire list of organisations here
Step 1: Search for your organisation.
Step 2: If it’s there, you’re good to go!
Step 3: If it’s not, well… time to panic-scroll through the list and pick a backup real quick. 🫠
Luckily for me, both FOSSology and SW360 made the cut, so I could breathe again.
Now here’s something GSoC doesn’t tell you loud enough: Yes, they say “official contributions start after the org list is out”… But let’s be real that’s too late.
By the time that list drops, the serious folks already have:
- Repositories cloned
- Issues solved
- Mentors annoyed (in a good way)
- And countless PRs pouring in the community
You are already late to make yourself known to the community unless you are an entirely cracked developer with tons of experience who can impress the maintainers in one PR. (Trust me you will be competing with these people as well.🥲)
So if you have been waiting for an official green light, you’re already behind.
My advice? Start early. Pick your org in advance, dive into the codebase, and get talking with the community. That early engagement really pays off later.
Official Contributor Application (Proposal Round)
So here’s the deal, GSoC lets you submit a maximum of 3 proposals.
Sounds generous, right? But it also means you’ve gotta choose wisely.
Don’t just speed-run through the organisation list and submit random proposals. Take your time, actually read the project ideas, stalk the repo (in a friendly way), and ask yourself:
“Do I really want to spend my entire summer working on this. Also ask yourself another plausible question if you will be going nuts dissecting the project 💀?”
That said, I went all in and submitted proposals to:
Each one was carefully thought through, no random shots in the dark.
And because I know how confusing this phase can be, I’ll be sharing all three of my proposals below so you can get a real-world reference (and maybe avoid the mistakes I made along the way 😅).
All of my proposals are attached below –
Fossology Proposal - The Project Idea for this repository was Integrating Fossology to Open Source Review Toolkit. The link to the proposal is at Proposal Link
SW360 Proposal - The Project Idea for this repository was Improving Integration with Fossology. The link to the proposal is at Proposal Link
Consul Democracy Proposal - The Project Idea for this repository was Docker for Consul Democracy Citizen Platform. The Link to the proposal is at Proposal Link
Okaay so you’re probably thinking “Where did Consul Democracy come from all of a sudden?”
Fair question… but if I start explaining that here, this blog will turn into a novel 😂
So here’s the deal: I’ve covered everything the application round, the proposal drafting chaos, how I ended up picking my orgs, how to actually choose the right repository, some insider tips I wish I knew earlier, and a lot more in my video.
If you’re serious about giving GSoC a shot (or just want to hear me rant and drop some wisdom), go check it out!
Trust me, it’ll save you hours of confusion later and more countless hours of endless surfing through blogs and videos. 😎
Submission Phase
After all the brainstorming and back-and-forth, the final submission phase is actually pretty straightforward.
You just:
- Submit your 3 proposals
- Rank them based on your preference (aka which one you really want to work on)
- And once the deadline hits, that’s it. Locked and sealed. No edits. No swaps.
So yeah, choose wisely.
Also don’t forget to upload your proposals as PDFs. No Google Docs, no last-minute screenshots, no “I thought it saved” excuses. Just clean, crisp PDFs.
After that, it’s out of your hands. Sit back, chill (or panic internally), and wait for the results to roll in 😅. Once you’ve hit submit, there’s honestly not much more you can do. The proposals are locked, the rankings are set, and now it’s just… the waiting game. But hey, that doesn’t mean you go AFK. Keep contributing. Stay active in the community.
It shows the maintainers that you’re not just here for the GSoC badge, you’re here because you genuinely care about the project and want to be part of something bigger.
Don’t be a GSoC tourist. Be a community member.
Take your contributions all the way up to the day results are announced (and beyond if you can). That commitment speaks louder than any proposal. At the end of the day, remember: You’re contributing to an open-source community, not just applying to an open-source program. Whether or not you make it into GSoC, the experience, learning, and connections you build here? That’s the real win.
So yeah—keep the spirit of open-source high, and keep showing up ✌️
These are the 3 proposals that I had submitted.
The D-Day
So here’s how it goes—you either get “Congrats!” or “Maybe next time!” in your inbox.
No suspense, no fireworks.
I got both types of emails (yep, been on both sides of the drama 😅) — sharing them below for the feels!
Acceptance and Rejection Emails After that, you’ll start getting a bunch of emails about formalities, timelines, forms, and all that official grown-up stuff 😅
(Don’t worry I have broken it all down in my video 👀)
Keeping it short here because I know some of you are just begging for this never-ending blog to finally wrap up. Hang in there, you’re almost free 🥲
Well my blog ends here officially but I will be just adding a Conclusion… umm.. because well it’s customary.
Reflections
Looking back, this entire GSoC journey taught me so much more than just writing proposals or submitting PRs.
Here’s what I really took away –
- How to navigate open-source communities (pro tip: be kind, be curious, and ask good questions)
- How to write proposals that people actually want to read
- How to communicate like a real human, not just copy-paste template replies
- And most importantly, how to be okay with not knowing everything and still showing up anyway
Real-Talk Tips for Future Applicants
- Start early. Like really early.
Don’t be like me doom-scrolling through org lists at 2 AM while others are out there submitting PRs like it’s an Olympic event 😩
Have some clarity. That’s literally why I made the video so you don’t wander around clueless like I did. Yeah, it’s a bit long… but trust me, it’ll save you weeks of confusion and panic googling 😭. Do yourself a favour watch it. Your future self will thank you.
- Pick a project that actually excites you, not just the one that sounds “fancy” on a resume.
- Talk to people. Maintainers and mentors are helpful, not scary. A single message can go a long way.
- Your GitHub is your real resume here. Keep it clean, active, and public.
- And please don’t fake it. If you don’t understand something, just ask or learn it. Fancy buzzwords won’t save you.
What’s Next: Time to Build
Now that the selection part’s done, it’s time to roll up my sleeves. This summer, I’ll be working with the SW360 team on something I genuinely believe in. I’ll be:
- Deep-diving into the idea
Improving the Integration of SW360 with Fossology - Have a nice time coding, debugging and communicating with my mentors
Along the way, I’m planning to:
- Stay consistent with weekly updates and weekly meetups and code reviews.
- Keep learning through mentor feedback.
- And continue contributing to SW360 and other notable open-source organisations even after GSoC ends because open-source doesn’t come with an expiry date
I’ve shared a lot more detail (like, step-by-step level) in my video—from how I shortlisted my orgs, wrote proposals, got feedback, to how I stayed active with contributions. So if you’re serious about applying to GSoC next year, I highly recommend checking it out. But hey, if you’re just here to get a feel for the ride hope this blog gave you that. And if it nudged you even slightly toward open-source, that’s a win for me 😊
さようなら、良い一日を
Ciao till the next blog! 👋