[Biopython-dev] Fwd: [Open-bio-l] Call for Org Admins for OBF's 2016 Google Summer of Code participation

[Peter Cock]

(apologies to those receiving duplicates - we are trying to reach our
community at large)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Hilmar Lapp <hlapp at drycafe.net>
Date: Fri, Jan 15, 2016 at 10:42 PM
Subject: [Open-bio-l] Call for Org Admins for OBF's 2016 Google Summer
of Code participation
To: Open-Bio List <open-bio-l at mailman.open-bio.org>


The 2016 Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is coming up soon. The published
timeline [1] puts the mentoring organization applications from Feb 8
to 19.

OBF participated on behalf of our member projects from 2010-2012, and
in 2014. 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.
Starting in 2012 and in particular in 2014, we also committed to
“paying it forward” on the organization level, welcoming a much
broadened scope of projects to participate under our umbrella (see [2]
for a summary). Finally, the mentoring organization payments have
allowed OBF to sponsor community events, student travel awards, and
infrastructure.

To participate this year, we have to appoint 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.
Our org admins from previous years (Eric Talevich and Raoul Bonnal)
remain available for backup and guidance, but are unfortunately not in
a position to take the lead org admin role.

## What does an org admin do?

An org admin’s role is in many ways that of a cat herder with a
vision. The whole team of mentors and admins is what creates the
experience for the students, but it falls on the org 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:

        • Shaping and setting the overall vision (including scope) for
our program participation.
        • Serving as the primary contact for our participation to
Google, to mentors, and to students.
        • Shepherding our mentoring organization application, and submitting it.
        • Determining 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.

OBF’s 2016 program participation may continue or even extend from
previous years the broadening of scope for participating projects. We
could also partner with other open-source bioinformatics project
communities to form a joint umbrella. These questions are part of
setting the vision for our program participation, and intentionally
not pre-set. Although the OBF Board retains a veto right, we have
always given our community leaders full trust and full latitude once
appointed.

The person we are looking for will genuinely care about the well-being
of our communities; cares about students and student learning; is well
organized; stays calm in email storms; communicates clearly; has good
people skills; and generally is known as a good listener.

## How to respond?

If you are interested in helping us out in this role, please email us
by Thursday Jan 21, 2016, 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 having been active in some capacity in at least one of
our project’s communities will certainly be very valuable. Please
include in your email a brief summary of such activities, or a pointer
to where they can be looked up online.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Hilmar Lapp, OBF President, on behalf of the OBF Board of Directors

[1] https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/timeline?hl=en
[2] http://news.open-bio.org/news/2015/02/obf-gsoc-2014-wrapup/

--
Hilmar Lapp -:- lappland.io


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