Benefits
Benefits to Student Involvement in Open Source
Open source software provides a rich real-world learning environment for students. Open source also can motivate students, allowing students be excited about learning withing a professional community while they learn and mature professionally. You may also be interested in an article providing a professor's perspective on student involvement in open source.
Benefits to Students
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Unbounded learning
When working in an active open source project, students are not constrained to the boundaries of a classroom. Students can and do learn technologies and skills that go far beyond course outcomes as they're learning within a professional community. In addition, much of the learning comes from the community itself, rather than the instructor. As one student put it: "Rather than coming off like a lecture of different tools and skills, it felt more like a more experienced co-worker giving advice and tools-of-the-trade to a newcomer."
Professional Interactions
As students interact with an open source community, they gain professional skills including communication, teamwork, and problem solving. In addition, open source interactions provide students with an opportunity to network with professionals while building a public portfolio of their work. As one student said about their experience in learning in open source, "...it forced me to work on a more professional level all around." Another student commented, "I found if you check your ego at the door, and do your best to provide useful, beneficial contributions the community will appreciate your work and push you in the correct direction."
Outside Opportunities
Involvement in open source communities opens the door for students to grow outside of the classroom. Events like the GNOME Summit and developer meetings allow students to explore computing in new environments.
Better Understanding of Software Engineering as a Profession
Though engaging with a community that is developing a sizeable project, students understand the complexities of developing software while also gaining an understanding of professional communication as well as current technologies. Students gain an understanding of the real-world constraints on software projects while experiencing the intricacies of a real, complex code base.
Understanding of Open Source
By participating in an open source community, students learn about open source culture and customs. Many software tools and approaches originated from the open source world and students benefit from learning the culture that supports innovation and curiosity.
Fun!
Students get excited about working on a real project where their work is publicly visible. Many instructors struggle with how to motivate students to learn. Participation in an open source project provides students with motivation that is tied to the content being learned. As one student said about their open source participation, "This experience has been invaluable and will change how I continue to learn as a software engineer throughout my career."
Benefits to Open Source Communities
Open source communities also benefit from student participation.
New Contributors
One obvious benefit of student involvement in open source is establishing a practice of open source contribution early in a student's professional career. Such contributions aid both the individual open source community as well as open source at large.
Relationships with Academia
By supporting student participation in open source, communities may be able to leverage academic resources to support the project. For instance, an academic institution might provide space for an in-person meeting of the open source community.
Expanded Use of Open Source
As many students are unaware of the use and impact of open source, student participation in open source communities gives open source applications additional visibility on campus and beyond.
