[Biopython-dev] Fwd: Call for Org Admins for OBF's 2014 Google Summer of Code participation

[Peter Cock]

Would anyone like to help organise our GSoC efforts? See below...

Thanks!

Peter

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Hilmar Lapp <hlapp at drycafe.net>

The 2014 Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is coming up soon. The published
timeline [1] puts the mentoring organization applications from Feb 3
to 14.

OBF participated on behalf of our member projects from 2010-2012, and
those participations were both important and successful. Through them,
our projects gained new contributors, new features, and new community
members. The mentors involved from our projects learned as much from
the experience as the students, and formed bonds. The mentoring
organization payment allowed OBF to sponsor community events and
infrastructure.

To participate this year, we have to designate 2-3 people as primary
and backup organization administrators. This is an important role, and
we are looking for people from our community to step forward to serve.

An org admin’s role is in many ways that of a cat herder. The whole
team of mentors and admins creates the experience for the students,
but it falls on the admin to “keep it together.” Google holds the
mentoring organization, not its mentors, accountable for the actions
(or non-actions) of its mentors or community, and it falls on the org
admin to carry that accountability through to the org’s mentors. The
org admin’s responsibilities include:
        • Representing our online face to GSoC, in particular to GSoC students.
        • Shepherding our mentoring organization application, and submitting it.
        • Working out processes and rules for mentors as well as
students that promote transparency, fairness, and protect from
late-in-the-game surprises.
        • Knowing GSoC rules and processes, and making sure ours are
consistent with them.
        • Reminding participants of rules, and enforcing them in the
event it is necessary.
        • Mediating, and sometimes arbitrating between students and
mentors when needed.
        • Ensuring that GSoC timelines are met by everyone.
The person we are looking for will genuinely care about the well-being
of our communities, is well organized, stays calm in email storms,
communicates clearly, has good people skills, and generally is known
as a good listener.

If you are interested in helping us out in this role, please email us
(by Jan 21, 2014) a statement at board at open-bio.org explaining how you
would fit well in this role, and what your vision for our GSoC
participation is. You need not be a developer or programmer to
respond, but for now we do require that you have been active in some
capacity in at least one of our project’s communities. Please include
in your email a brief summary of such activities even if you are a
core developer for one of our projects.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Hilmar Lapp, OBF President, on behalf of the OBF Board of Directors
[1] http://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/events/google/gsoc2014