[Biopython] BioPython GSOC 2010

[Brad Chapman]

Subho;

> I am interested in applying for GSOC 2010.
> 
> Particularly liked the R and Python integration proposal. There are lot of
> other cool R packages too, such as Bio3d that one can think of.

Great to hear you are interested. The official student application
period will run from March 29th-April 9th; we will have more
specifics about when and where to apply once the organizational
application round in finished.

There is plenty you can do in the meantime. The selection process
for students is competitive, and some of the things that help give 
proposals an advantage are:

- Demonstrating knowledge of the projects. For the R/python idea, this
  would involve digging into Rpy2, some R packages you would be
  interested in exposing, and Biopython to get a sense of what a
  compatible API would look like.

- Demonstrating open source coding capabilities. If you've not
  already worked on an open source project, this could involve
  putting together working code demonstrating an aspect of your
  proposal and making it available on Bitbucket or GitHub.

- Showing the ability to communicate effectively with the community.
  Once you have code available, write up some information about it
  on a blog, ask for feedback on mailing lists, or otherwise let
  people know it is out there and you want to talk about it.

These tips are generally useful independent of what specific project
you are applying for.

Hope this helps,
Brad