Mentorship FAQs

What is Mentorship?

The Linux Foundation Mentorship connects mentees with mentors to increase diversity and inclusion and inject new talent into open source communities. Each open source project participating in the Mentorship program is responsible for developing the structure and guidelines for their own mentorship program, including identifying mentors and mentees, outlining tasks for mentees, and determining stipends and/or other incentives for participants.

How long do mentorship programs last?

Each project decides the duration of its mentorship programs, but most start at 12 weeks. Projects often offer opportunities for part-time and full-time mentorships. For example, the Linux Kernel Mentorship Program includes both full-time and part-time volunteer mentee positions each year.

Who can participate?

People (except people from Russia, Belarus, Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic) looking for professional advancement in open source as well as students are welcome to apply to participate as mentees. Mentors must be approved or invited to participate by that project’s administrator. All applicants must meet the Linux Foundation Mentorship eligibility requirements.

Are participants from Ukraine, Russia, or Belarus allowed to participate in the LFX Mentorship Programs 2022?

Due to certain circumstances, mentorship programs for 2022, organized by the Linux Foundation, are not accepting participants (Contributors, Mentors and Organization Administrators) from Russia, Belarus, or the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LNR). However, participants located within Ukraine but outside of the DNR and LNR can apply to the LFX mentorship programs.

Do mentees get compensated?

Mentees are not employees of the Linux Foundation or of the project providing the mentorship, so they are not directly paid wages for their participation in the mentorship. However, many projects choose to offer stipends and other incentives to support and encourage mentees to participate. Funding for stipends and other perks is determined solely by each project.

What are some of the projects and employers participating in the Mentorship program?

Open source projects participating in the Mentorship program include the Linux Kernel, Zephyr, Open Mainframe Project, Jaeger, and Vue.js. Corporate participants include Huawei and Twitter.