Google Summer of Code - Melange

Before The Program

If you have been contributing to an organization that has been accepted into Google Summer of Code, you might discover that you want to mentor a Student in the program. Here's some information about participating as a Mentor.

Mentor registration

The first (and required) step in becoming a Mentor is to have a discussion with the Organization Administrator of the organizations for which you are interested in mentoring. Once you have both agreed that you are qualified, you then must create create a profile in Melange and apply. Please remember that you need to have a Google account in order to register and create a profile with the program. If you don't have a Google account, you will need to sign up for one at http://accounts.google.com/signup.

To create a profile, press on the "organizations apply now!" button on the homepage. Once you have logged in with your Google account, you will be taken to a page to create your profile.


You will need to fill in your name, email address, home address, and other optional information. You will be asked if your shipping address is different from your home address. If so, please check the box and additional fields will appear to add an additional address.  

Note that it is possible to sign up as a Mentor from the time the Organizations are accepted into a particular program until the end of the coding period for students. 

Important points:

Make sure that your Public Name is professional and consistent with the name or handle you use within your project. For example, if your name is Bill Chow and you go by "bchow" on your project mailing list, you might choose "Bill_Chow" or "bchow" as your "Public Name".  Please do not choose a Public Name that is potentially offensive, such as "jacktheripper".

    For "Public Email", please enter an email address to be used by Organization Administrators or students seeking additional information. Please use the email address associated with the Google Account information you provided during the application process but it is not required. This email will be used as the primary mode of contact by Google throughout the program, e.g. the email address which we will use to subscribe you to the Google Summer of Code Mentors/Organization Administrators-only mailing list or the email to contact you if there is a shipping issue.

    For IM Handle and Home Page and Blog URL, please note that these are not required text fields. Leave these fields blank if you do not use these systems or if you prefer not to share that information.

    You'll need to press Submit at the bottom of the page. You will remain able to edit your profile after submission. After you hit submit, you will not see a confirmation of completion. Instead, you'll be taken directly to the Edit Profile tab.

     

    Once you have created a profile in Melange you can apply to be a Mentor for the particular organization (or organizations) with which you would like to work. To apply to be a Mentor for each organization, click on the orange "Start connection" button on the homepage.

     

    You will then be taken to the list of organizations available to mentor for. Choose the organization you wish and you will be taken to a form in which you can include a message to your Organization Administrator about why you would like to participate in the program. Then press the Submit button.

    You will then see a Connections Summary page. This page  lists all of the connection history between you and the organization. Under the "Action" box, click on the Yes button and hit Submit. 

     

    How do I know if I have been accepted as a Mentor?

    Click on My Dashboard --> Connections --> See your connections. Your "Connections Summary" page will change to reflect your status as a mentor (see "Role Granted by Organization").

     

     You may also notice that more options show up in your dashboard including "Proposals", "Important Documents", "My ToDo's" and "My Organizations". 

    Registering as a Mentor throughout the Program

    It is possible to register as a Mentor and follow the steps above at any point once the Organization has been accepted all the way until the final evaluations are submitted. The screen will look a bit different if you try to register as a Mentor after the Students have been accepted. See the screenshot below for what to expect. You can then follow all of the same instructions outlined above to register as a Mentor.