Mentorship makes pairing promising open-source talent with experienced mentors easier than ever. A mentorship program is a structured relationship between a mentor and a mentee, aimed at helping the mentee achieve their personal or professional goals. Invest in building a more robust and diverse community of qualified developers and engineers.

The main goal of a mentorship program is to transfer knowledge, skills, and experience from the mentor to the mentee to help the mentee grow and develop in their personal and professional lives.

How to Participate

You can participate in the Linux Foundation Mentorship program as a program administrator, a mentor, or a mentee.

: As a program administrator, you will on the platform and act as a single point of contact for mentors, mentees, and the Linux Foundation's HR and finance teams. Specifically, you collaborate with mentors during the application review process and work closely with The Linux Foundation's HR and finance teams to oversee the mentee acceptance process and stipend payments.

: Mentors volunteer their time to work with mentees during the mentorship program. You will need to on the Mentorship platform before requesting to be a mentor for the Linux Foundation Mentorship program.

: Mentees profile to apply to The Linux Foundation's mentorship programs. As a mentee, you will have the opportunity to contribute to an open-source project while working under the guidance of an experienced mentor who's an active contributor to the project and open-source community.

How does the program work?

First, a project administrator enrolls a project. Then, mentors and mentees participate, as shown in the following high-level diagram:

Overview

The Mentorship Platform is a structured remote learning tool for new open-source developers. It connects experienced contributors and maintainers with aspiring individuals, providing them with knowledge, skills, and practical guidance.

This platform facilitates personal and professional growth by fostering a collaborative environment where mentors and mentees can learn and contribute together.

New Features

NA

Enhancements Summary:

• Program Term Filtering: Added term filtering options for mentees and applications, enhancing precision and performance when handling large datasets.

• Enhanced Search Logic: Improved search functionality for names and emails, supporting partial matches, special characters, and split names.

• Improved Filtering & Pagination: Enhanced filtering and pagination across mentee listings for a smoother user experience and more consistent result sets, even with complex filters.

UI Enhancements

• New "Filter by Term" Dropdown: Introduced a new "Filter by Term" dropdown in the Program Mentees tab.

• Term Column Addition: Added a "Term" column to the Current and Past Mentees tables.

• Improved Task Assignment Flow: The "Add Task" button now appears only when an accepted mentee is available, ensuring tasks can only be assigned to them.

Bug Fixes

• Duplicate User Prevention: Fixed the system to block the creation of users with duplicate email addresses.

• Filtering & Pagination Bugs: Resolved bugs in the Current Mentees tab, ensuring accurate and complete results.

Known Issues

NA

Support

Before you apply to The Linux Foundation Mentorship program, we strongly recommend you to read this guide. You will learn how to prepare and why this mentorship program can be beneficial for you to mention just a few topics included in this guide.

So, let's get started.

Note: To learn about the Mentorship platform, navigate to mentees section of this document.

Mentee evaluations are conducted three or four times throughout the duration of the mentorship program in order to provide mentees with feedback on their progress. Depending on the program, your mentor may choose to have 1:1 check-ins, virtual meetings or written evaluations.

Only after receiving a satisfactory evaluation, mentees can submit an Expensify report to receive stipends.

Note: Mentees are also asked to share their experience, provide feedback and suggestions at the end of the mentorship so that Linux Foundation can make improvements to program. \

Following are various types of roles for the mentorship program:

Mentor

This is You— community members who guide mentees. Mentors help mentees learn open source development by providing thorough guidance. In addition to that, mentors also help contributors to integrate into project communities, and refer mentees to potential employers.

Program Maintainer

Program maintainers are the individuals who enroll the mentorship programs. They can be employees of Linux Foundation, and manage the entire program, and take a wide range of responsibilities, such as creating and analyzing the program evaluations, ensuring that mentees are paid on time, ensuring that mentors and mentees are in sync throughout the program, responding to inquiries, and so on.

Mentee

Mentee is a college or university student, or an active developer who wants to learn open source software development. Mentees must be at least 18 years of age to enroll into this mentorship program. Mentees come from diverse academic, geographical, and social backgrounds.So, keeping in mind that mentees come from diverse backgrounds, set a universal tone while communicating with mentees throughout the learning process.\

Mentoring people might sound interesting, however, quality mentoring requires commitment, willingness, and ability to take leadership responsibility. Before you apply to be a mentor, consider the following questions:

Are you a member of the developer community? To mentor aspiring developers for a particular project, you must have sufficient knowledge about project development. If you are already a member of the developer community, then yes, you can be a mentor. If you are not, then it might be difficult for you to introduce mentees to the project culture, and best practices. But if you are new, and still want to engage in the mentoring channel, you can be an assistance mentor, and this will help you to become a successful full-fledged mentor in future.

Will you be able to dedicate sufficient time? Quality mentoring needs your quality time with sufficient attention towards this mentorship program. So, please consider your availablity before committing to be a mentor.

Are you really interested in mentoring mentees? The primary purpose of mentoring is to help aspiring developers learn open source software development, our projects, and culture. This requires your passion, time, and patience to help the community grow. As a mentor, you will engage with mentees from the very beginning to the end of the program.\

1. To edit a program enrollment form, sign in to the Mentorship, click My Mentorships tab.

2. You see the Programs for which you are an Administrator.

3. Click Filter by Status to filter the programs.

1. Select the program that you want to edit, and click on Edit CTA on the program card.

To view and manage your mentorship profile Sign in to Mentorship and select My Account Tab

You can updated your profile by selecting Edit Mentee Profile CTA button.

The Program Administrator can invite a mentor to participate in the mentorship program by adding them as a mentor. When a mentor is added, they will receive an email notification from LF Engineering, informing them of their selection and requesting that they create a mentor profile if they do not already have one.

If a mentor already has a profile on LFX Mentorship, there is no action is required, unless they want to remove themselves from the program. Below is a screenshot of the email that the mentor receives after being added by the program admin.

Mentors can remove themselves from a program by navigating to their profile and selecting Withdraw CTA next to the program name. Selecting this action will change the mentor's program membership status to Withdrawn.

Each mentorship card is visible on both the Mentorship and Crowdfunding platforms. This allows you to access detailed information about the mentorship program and its financial records.

Accessing Mentorship and Funding Information

1. Select a Project: Choose a project you would like to view.

1. Sign in to Mentorship. Click on the My Projects tab.

2. Navigate to Your Project. Select the relevant project card to go to the project detail page. Click the Current Mentees tab to view the list of all mentee applicants.

3. Select a Mentee.

Managing Tasks in the Mentorship Program

To effectively manage tasks assigned to you, follow these steps:

Accessing Your Tasks

1. To request to be added to a mentorship program to and if you haven't created a mentor profile, click the Become a Mentor navigation menu item to .

2. On your mentor profile form, navigate to the Mentorship Program Details section, select a program from the drop-down list, and click +Add Project. Your request is displayed with the status Requested.

3. After the project maintainer adds you to the program, you will get an email notification, and the "Requested" status will change to Approved.

4. You can remove yourself from the program by selecting Withdraw CTA. Selecting this action will change the mentor's program membership status to Withdrawn.

How much stipend will I receive?

Stipend are calculated based on your location.

How is my location determined?

Your location is determined by where you currently reside, that is, your country of current residence. If you are enrolled at an online institution or are a recent graduate, your stipend is determined by the location of your permanent residence.

How are the stipend amounts determined?

We are using a Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)-based calculation to determine the stipend. We start with a base amount of 6,000 USD and then adjust it based on each country's PPP value. There is a minimum (3000 USD) and maximum (6600 USD) stipend amount. The base amount takes into consideration the fact that many universities are in urban centers, which can be more expensive than in other parts of the country.

To get the most out of your mentorship experience, it is important to develop certain habits and skills. Here’s what makes a great mentee:

1. Practice Research Skills

• Try to Find Answers: Before asking questions, search for solutions on your own. Use resources like Stack Overflow, Medium, or other public forums.

Work with your Mentor

Depending on the projects, a mentor will be assigned to you throughout the program, from the application process to course completion. It is your responsibility to actively engage with your mentor to ensure you complete all tasks during the application process for acceptance. Once accepted as a mentee, work closely with your mentor to ensure you are learning effectively, getting answers to your questions, and contributing to the project. Be proactive and reach out to mentors to schedule weekly check-in meetings. Use one of the first meetings to align on expectations, communication channels, norms, tools, and any vacation or academic scheduling conflicts. Set up your development environment and tools, and do some practice work. Start contributing to your project by writing clean code or clear instructions in the documents, and have them reviewed by your mentor in a timely manner. Ask for feedback or suggestions on your progress, and seek advice to excel. During the application process, work with your mentor on a project plan that includes project objectives, milestones, deliverables, methodology, and documentation. The project plan should be posted on the wiki for transparency and accountability at the beginning of your application to the program. Respect your mentor’s time. Your mentor is volunteering their time to help you grow, taking time out of their busy schedule. Therefore, regularly attend scheduled meetings, provide updates on your work status, and take full advantage of your mentor's guidance to learn. Remember that your mentor is the most valuable person to help you successfully graduate from the mentorship program.

You can have a look at some useful resources:

• Mentor Guide : You can also take a look at the .

• List of Organizations: You can see a list of organisations that participated in previous years, by visiting the project site.

Congratulations! You have successfully applied to the mentorship program. Now what? Your application will be reviewed, and the project admin will contact you with the next steps.

Note: You can check your application status by navigating to your account page.

To view and manage your mentorship profile to and select My Account Tab

You can update your profile by selecting Edit Mentor Profile CTA button.

Navigate to Get Help and select an option from the drop-down list:

Docs open the . Support opens the Help Center. FAQ opens the Mentorship FAQs.

Eligibility Rules

The following eligibility rules apply to all mentee applicants.

• Be at least 18 years old by the time the mentorship program starts.

• Not be a prior or an active participant in another Linux Foundation mentorship program.

• Be eligible to work in the country and jurisdiction where you will be participating in the Mentorship program.

• Not reside in a country or jurisdiction where participation in the mentorship is prohibited under applicable U.S. federal, state or local laws or the laws of other countries

• Seeking to participate on your own behalf as an individual

• Not be subject to any existing obligations to third parties (such as contractual obligations to an employer) that would restrict or prohibit your participation in a mentorship program.

• Meet all criteria set by the program to which a mentees is applying, i.e. any custom prerequisites and requirements.

• Not be a maintainer, recurring contributor, etc.. with more than minimal involvement with the open source project that offers a mentorship program.

How many mentorship terms are there per year?

The Linux Foundation provides mentorship programs throughout the year, each with specific term dates. To access detailed information about the program term dates, please refer to the programs you are interested in.

How long is a mentee engaged in the program?

The process can vary based on the project's guidelines but usually involves applying, participating, and contributing. Even after the program ends, mentees can stay involved with the community.

How much stipend do the mentees get?

It might vary based on the geographical location of the mentees. For details, see Mentee Stipends.

Does the program offer travel funding?

Several projects and foundations offer mentorship programs that may provide travel funding support to mentees who successfully complete the program. Such funding aims to help mentees attend conferences to present their mentorship results and learnings, as well as to network with others in the community. It's recommended that you check with each individual program to learn more about the support available and detailed requirements.

Is the mentee selection process transparent and in the open?

Yes, the Linux Foundation maintains transparency in the mentee selection process. Selection is based on the application materials they submitted and interview/additional assessment tasks if assigned by the mentor. If mentees meet the eligibility requirements, applications are submitted, and all the assigned tasks are completed, their applications will be reviewed.

Are mentees encouraged to make a career in open source development?

Absolutely! For mentees who successfully graduate, Linux Foundation promotes their work and contribution on social channels so that their profile comes into the eye of potential employers, and sponsors them to attend conferences so that they get a chance to present their work to the greater community and meet potential employers. Linux Foundation also encourages mentors to connect mentees with their contacts and networks and refer deserved candidates to participating companies.

Does the Linux Foundation give the mentee visibility into the community and corporations supporting open source development?

Yes, Linux Foundation offers mentees the opportunity to network with the open source project community and prospective employers at a conference! It also encourages mentees to blog about their experience and Linux Foundation amplifies their blog on its website and social media channels.

How much time did mentors expect to commit to mentoring?

There is no fixed number of hours set for mentors as long as they manage to help mentees smoothly progress throughout the mentorship program, starting from the application process to the end of the program. They should create a timetable to meet the set project plan.

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

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

Mentoring is not just transferring knowledge and advice, it’s more about investing time in nurturing another profesional. Moreover, it gives a personal satisfaction when you help somebody grow and gets absorbed by the open source community. Following are some key benefits:

• Opportunity to teach and share expertise

• Helps to expand professional development record

• Opportunity to develop leadership and coaching style

• Exposure to be recognized as a Subject Matter Expert

• Get help with work in your respective technical areas

• Opportunity to train and bring new talent into the project

It gives an immense satisfaction, and showcases your leadership quality when your mentees write high about you in their blogs at the end of the program. Following are excerpts from blogs written by mentees:

“I am writing this post to share my experiences about working with Hyperledger and to report on the project itself and the impact it can have on the Hyperledger community as well as on my personal development. My mentor was Salman Baset, an active member of the Hyperledger community. I must emphasize what a great mentor he was, always available, communicative and helpful. He gave me a lot of hints and helped me out when I got stuck, but, still, I had the freedom to make technical and strategic decisions. I have learned a lot from him, and he (and this project) provided a huge boost for my personal improvement.”

– Balazs Prehoda, Hyperledger Fabric, Hyperledger Summer Mentorship Program

“I am very grateful for the support from my mentors, Baohua Yang, Haitao Yue, Tong Li and Jiahao Chen, as well as Hyperledger and for the opportunity to learn and contribute to open source Hyperledger projects.”

– Manank Patni, Hyperledger Summer Mentorship Program\

Mentee evaluations are conducted two to four times throughout the duration of the mentorship program in order to provide mentees with feedback on their progress.

Depending on the mentorship program, program admins may choose to have 1:1 check-ins, written evaluations, or virtual meetings with your mentees. Mentors work directly with the program admin to find out how the evaluations should be conducted and submitted.

Only after receiving a satisfactory evaluation, mentees can submit an Expensify report and receive their stipend. \

\

Mentoring can be enlightening for you. It gives you an opportunity to learn many aspects of this training program, such as understanding people from a diverse background across the globe, communicating in a general tone so that mentees who have English as a second language can understand easily, handling tough situations when something odd pops up in the middle of the program, and many more.

Before you participate in the Mentorship program, and start mentoring mentees, we strongly recommend you to read this guide. You will gain valuable insight on how to become a successful mentor, and making mentees an integral part of the community. You will also get tips on how to choose mentees for your projects, why/how this mentorship program can be beneficial for you, and many more.

So, let's get started.

Note: To know about user interface related usages of Mentorship website, navigate to mentors section of this document.

Yes, we understand. If you haven’t been involved in an open source project before it can be intimidating initially. But don’t worry, the entire community is here to help you at each step as you learn.

Sit back and Observe

Before you interact with the community members, it’s always advisable for you to observe how the community members are interacting within themselves, for example what communication channels are they using, how are they bringing up issues whenever they face any, how to send current progress, and so many. Seeing how other community members interact will help you adjust and learn the social norms in the community.

Don’t wait for an invitation, take initiative

Our tools and meetings are open by default, so jump in and introduce yourself, ask questions and share ideas:

• Establish routine

• Minimize distractions

• Nurture relationships

• Effectively manage time

• Set mini (daily or weekly) goals

• Regular and frequent check-ins with mentor(s) to stay on track

• Be mindful of timezones and others’ communication preferences

Managing the project plan is as crucial as creating it at the start of the project. Without properly managing the already prepared project plan, success becomes difficult. Following are some points to consider while following the project plan:

Ask for regular status reports: Status reports play a vital role in properly evaluating mentees. They are also important for you to track if a mentee is progressing towards completing a milestone or if a mentee is facing any issues. It should not happen that you get to know after two weeks that a mentee has missed a milestone. To avoid such irregularity and not-acceptable moments, you should ask for regular updates.

Check for completed tasks: Ensure that you are keeping a track of all the assigned tasks, and when they are completed or to be completed. Analyze and do what suits best for your community.

Discuss about missed deadlines: If a mentee slips a deadline, you immediately raise a flag, discuss with mentee, and ask for a valid reason. It’s advisable to ask for an official communication on this. Let them know that this might impact their performance and future engagement with the community. If it happens frequently, let your program manager know about this. Keep in mind that you aren’t just teaching a mentee, you also are preparing a future contributor, so, dedication and commitment are must for a mentee.

Be Humble: We all are humans. It’s not just mentees who might slip a deadline, it can happen with you also when it comes to scheduled meetings, providing feedback on completed tasks, reviewing a piece of code, and so on. If such a situation arises that you need to miss a meeting or deadline, ensure that you communicate this to your mentees and the community if needed well in advance.\

You will be engaged with mentees right from the application process. During this period, you will work with mentees in creating a project plan, deciding on scheduled meeting times, and so on. As a mentor, it is your responsibility to prepare mentees before they start contributing to the project. It might take some extra effort for you to prepare the mentees who are new to the open source community. Following are some goals to keep in mind:

• Make Mentees familiarize with the development environment, such as the version control system, communication channels, bug trackers, and necessary documents to read.

• As this mentorship is a step-by-step process, and mentees will be evaluated on a periodic basis, you should define the project planning, strategically, and keep tangible requirements ready for each evaluation period.

• Help mentees engage socially with the community

• Encourage and prepare mentees to actively participate in all areas of this mentorship program, starting from coding to documentation.

• Provide reasonable time for mentees to learn and adapt to the open source community and culture.

The Linux Foundation Mentorship Program follows the following term names; however, the program administrators can use any Term name during program creation. For details, see program terms of Program Setup.

Full-Time Terms:

Spring Term: March 1st - May 31st

• Mentorships available on LFX Mentorship: mid-January

• Mentee applications open on LFX: approximately 4 weeks

• Mentee application review and acceptance: approximately 2 weeks before the term begins.

Summer Term: June 1st - August 31st

• Mentorships available on LFX Mentorship: mid-April

• Mentee applications open on LFX: approximately 4 weeks

• Mentee application review and acceptance: approximately 2 weeks before the term begins.

Fall Term: September 1st - Nov 30th

• Mentorships available on LFX Mentorship: mid-July

• Mentee applications open on LFX: approximately 4 weeks

• Mentee application review and acceptance: approximately 2 weeks before the term begins.

Activity Timelines

The mentorship program is designed to provide a structured and supportive learning experience for mentees. Below is an overview of the program timeline for the full-time and part-time schedules.

Full-Time Mentorship Program (12 weeks)

The full-time mentorship program is a 12-week intensive experience that includes regular evaluations and stipend payments.

• Week 1-3: The mentorship program begins with initial work assignments.

• End of Week 3: First mentee evaluations are due (optional for mentors and program administrators).

• End of Week 6: Midterm mentee evaluations are due, and the first stipend payment (50% of the total amount) is approved.

Part-Time Mentorship Program (24 weeks)

The part-time mentorship program is a 24-week experience that includes regular evaluations and stipend payments.

• Week 1-6: Mentorship program begins with initial work assignments.

• End of Week 6: First mentee evaluations are due (optional for mentors and program administrators).

• End of Week 12: Midterm mentee evaluations are due, and the first stipend payment (50% of the total amount) is approved.

To view program details, navigate to the Mentorship platform, and under the Mentorships tab, select the program you would like to view.

Under the Mentorships tab, click the mentorships that are accepting applications, completed, or in progress.

The Mentors section contains mentor profile cards. Click View Profile to navigate to the mentor's profile page.

Mentee profile cards can be found in the Mentees section. Click View Profile to go to the mentor's profile page.

The Graduated Mentees section contains profiles of the mentees who completed the project's mentorship program. Click on View Profile and navigate to the mentor's profile page.

Project administrators enroll projects on the Mentorship platform, coordinate the review of mentee application submissions, and act as a single point of contact for mentors, mentees, and the Linux Foundation's HR and finance teams.

Your Activities

Get started by enrolling your project.

The Linux Foundation reviews all the Mentorship programs before being published and made visible on the Mentorship platform.

Submitted mentorship programs are reviewed based on the following factors:

• Open source status: projects must be 100% open source

• Community-wide adoption

• Alignment with The Linux Foundation’s support of open source initiatives

1. To enroll in the project, sign into the and select Enroll Your Project from the main navigation.

1. Complete the form. Red asterisks indicate required fields. A bar at the top of the page shows your progress as you click Next through the form.

2. Read and agree to the Terms and Conditions, and Submit the application.

1. Log in to Mentorship, click the My Mentorships tab.

2. Select the program for which you are an administrator. Click the program card.

3. On the next page, click the Current Mentees tab to view the list of all the mentee applicants.

Please note the following application statuses:

• Pending: The mentee has submitted their application to the mentorship program. The application is ready for review when "Tasks Submitted" appears above the status dropdown.

• Accepted: The mentee has been accepted into the program. Accepted mentees are also listed on the program dashboard.

• Withdrawn: The mentee has withdrawn their application. This status will also apply if the admin withdraws a mentee due to non-performance.

The Current Mentees section contains the following information:

To withdraw your mentorship application:

1. Sign in to Mentorship.

2. Click My Mentorships tab.

3. Under Programs for which I am a Mentee, select the project from which you want to withdraw your application.

4. Click Withdraw, and then click Confirm on the confirmation window.

5. The status of your application is changed to Withdrawn.

1. To view your application status, Sign in to the Mentorship and select My Projects tab.

2. The status of your application is listed on the mentorship program card.

Below is a description of each application status:

Application Status Codes

• Pending: Your application is currently under review. We have received your submission and are reviewing your prerequisite materials. Our project administrators and mentors will decide your acceptance soon.

• Accepted: Congratulations! Your application has been accepted to the mentorship program. You should have received an email notification with further instructions.

• Declined: Unfortunately, your application has been declined. We appreciate your interest in the program and encourage you to reapply.

The Linux Foundation maintains open-source and open community projects where participants choose to work together, and in that process experience differences in language, location, nationality, and experience. In such a diverse environment, misunderstandings and disagreements happen, which in most cases can be resolved informally. In rare cases, however, behavior can intimidate, harass, or otherwise disrupt one or more people in the community, which Linux Foundation will not tolerate.

A Code of Conduct (CoC) is useful to define accepted and acceptable behaviors and to promote high standards of professional practice. It also provides a benchmark for self evaluation and acts as a vehicle for better identity of the organization.

This CoC applies to any member of the Linux Foundation’s project community – developers, participants in meetings, teleconferences, mailing lists, conferences or functions, etc. Note that this code complements rather than replaces legal rights and obligations pertaining to any particular situation.

Statement of Intent

The Linux Foundation is committed to maintaining a positive work environment. This commitment calls for a workplace where participants at all levels behave according to the rules of the following code. A foundational concept of this code is that we all share responsibility for our work environment.

Code

1. Treat each other with respect, professionalism, fairness, and sensitivity to our many differences and strengths, including in situations of high pressure and urgency.

2. Never harass or bully anyone verbally, physically or sexually.

3. Never discriminate on the basis of personal characteristics or group membership.

What is the Linux Foundation Mentorship?

The Linux Foundation Mentorship connects mentees with mentors to increase diversity and inclusion in open source communities. Each project develops its mentorship program, including identifying mentors and mentees, outlining tasks, and determining stipends.

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 in the mentorship program?

• People from around the world (excluding Russia, Belarus, Donetsk People's Republic, and Luhansk People's Republic)

• Students

• Eligible mentors must be approved or invited by a project administrator

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

Due to current circumstances, the Linux Foundation's 2022 mentorship programs are not accepting participants from:

• Russia

• Belarus

• Donetsk People's Republic (DNR)

• Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) However, participants from Ukraine (excluding DNR and LNR) are eligible to apply.

Do mentees get compensated?

Mentees are not paid wages for participating in the mentorship. However, some projects may offer stipends or other incentives to support mentees, with funding determined by each project.

What are some of the projects and employers participating in mentorship programs?

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.

The initial responsibility that makes you a good mentor is selecting the right fit for your project. This ensures that both you and the organization benefit from having a key player who can significantly contribute to the success of the project.

Key Considerations for Selection

Identifying Motivation and Expectations

The starting point for selecting the right candidate is to understand the motivations and expectations of the mentee. A well-defined application process will guide you in making informed decisions.

Additionally, working closely with mentees during the application process allows you as a mentor to assess their suitability over time.

Evaluating Mentee Profiles

1. Technical Skills: Ensure that the mentee possesses the necessary technical and communication skills required for the project.

2. Past Performance: Review the candidate's previous experiences as a mentee. Understanding their past performance will help you gauge their level of commitment and expertise.

3. Enthusiasm for Learning: Assess the mentee's eagerness to learn open-source software development and community norms. Understand their reasons for applying to the program. Are they driven by personal interests, career advancement, or a combination of both?

Conflict of Interest

Avoid participating in the selection of a mentee for whom you have a conflict of interest.

• A conflict of interest exists if:

  • The mentee is a family member.

  • The mentee is a member of the same household.

Requirements for Mentees

• Mentees are required to provide cover letters (Statement of Purpose) while applying, allowing mentors to review them thoroughly.

• Additionally, mentors may conduct interviews to further assess the candidates' qualifications before making the final decision.

Responsibilities of Mentors

• Mentors are responsible for selecting and matching mentees to their projects. They should choose the best fit for the project, considering both technical skills and qualifications, as well as the mentee's ability to work well with others.

• If two candidates are equally qualified, mentors may use diversity-related considerations as a tiebreaker.

Benefits

Mentees can grow their careers by diving right into the open source community to learn from top project contributors. They can build expertise with hands-on experience and free access to premium Linux Foundation training.

To successfully graduate from this mentorship program, you need to be focused, and actively engage with your mentor, and if applicable other mentees. Be professional with your communication when you ask or post anything in the communication channel. Not just that, you need to be specific while asking questions from your mentors. Apart from these, following are some points to keep in mind:

Communicate: Keeping the line of communication open between you and your mentor(s) will build trust, respect, and a positive relationship that facilitates the successful completion of the project.

• Schedule weekly check-ins to review progress, blockers, and upcoming tasks.

As a mentor, you not only provide technical guidance to mentees, you also understand their enthusiasm to learn and work for open source development based on which you can select them for the program, and refer their profile to potential employers. You are the person who helps mentees learn and enhance their technical skills, and whose guidance brightens their career. Sounds cool, doesn’t it? Good mentees can also become great mentors in future, and contribute effectively to communities.\

Here are some reasons to consider putting yourself forward as a mentor and formally participate in the mentorship program:

• You believe in the value of mentorship by helping new and active developers learn open source development, culture, the tooling and infrastructure to be a productive member of the community.

You worked hard. You created your profile, found an interesting project, and completed all the prerequisite tasks. Not being selected can be disappointing, but it’s not the end of your journey.

Steps to Take if You Weren’t Selected

The mentorship program helps you build skills and contribute to open source projects in a structured way. Here’s what you can expect at each stage of the program.

1. Application Process

• Apply to Projects: Submit your application through your Linux Foundation account for the projects you are interested in.

Mentoring is a service both to mentees and organization. By providing a praise-worthy mentoring, you are not only adding value to your profile, you are also setting path clear for future mentees to enroll into the project. Mentoring mentees who are geographically far from you can be quite challenging as there are time zone differences for which you need to take some extra effort in decision making while scheduling meetings. Once a mentee is assigned to you, you are expected to work on the following guidelines:

Provide Feedback

For sure, there will be applicants who won’t make it to the program. As a mentor, it’s your responsibility to provide feedback to those unlucky mentees, letting them know that their applications were valued. This way it leaves a good impression on the program, especially on you, and has a good impact on the enthusiastic mentees to apply again. Not just when mentees don’t get selected, provide timely feedback to the selected mentees as well who undergo this training program.

Apart from adding new developers to the open source community, the Linux Foundation Mentorship program is about adding value to open source projects, by sustaining the health of open source communities. The mentorship program can achieve great success by providing high quality learning experiences to mentees. So, mentors and participating organizations play an important role in delivering quality experience to mentees by providing timely proper guidance, and discussing project milestones, deliverables, and taks with mentees.

You can add mentors to your mentorship program through multiple methods. Mentors help guide and support mentees throughout the program, so it's important to include key contributors from your community.

Methods for Adding Mentors

Method 1: During Project Enrollment (Program Creation)

You can add mentors when creating a new mentorship program through the Program Setup section of the program enrollment form,

1. Navigate to the Program Setup step of the program enrollment form.

2. Locate the Program Mentors section (marked with a required asterisk).

3. Use the Search and select mentors... dropdown to find mentors by email or LFID username.

Note:

• Mentors need to have an LFID (Linux Foundation ID) before they can be "searchable" and be invited to Mentorship.

• The info icon (ℹ️) next to the "Program Mentors" label provides additional guidance.

• Don't forget to include yourself as a mentor!

How the invitation works:

• If the LF user has a mentor profile: The mentor will be added to the program with status Approved when the program is created.

• If the LF user does not have a mentor profile: The mentor will be added with status Pending, and an email will be sent to them requesting that they create a mentor profile first. Once they create their mentor profile, they can then accept or decline the invitation.

Method 2: Accepting Mentor Requests via Email

You may receive an email informing you that a mentor is interested in volunteering for your mentorship program. Review the mentor's profile, and if the mentor is a good match:

• Click the Add to Project CTA in the email to navigate to the manage mentor tab.

• For detailed information about managing mentors, see .

Method 3: Inviting Mentors from the Mentors Tab

You can also invite and manage mentors directly from the project details page using the Mentors tab. For detailed information about managing mentors, see .

Managing Mentors

Once mentors are added to your program, you can manage them from the Mentors tab on the project details page. This includes:

• Viewing all mentors associated with your program

• Searching and filtering mentors by name

• Changing mentor statuses (Pending, Approved, Declined)

For detailed information about managing mentors, see .

1. To create a mentee profile, log in to the Mentorship and select Become a Mentee menu.

2. Complete the Eligibility Requirements section

1. Next, complete the following sections of the form:

1. Select the Terms and Conditions checkbox, and click Submit.

User Information

Your name and email fields are auto-populated from your Linux Foundation account. Upload an avatar image, which will appear on your mentee card.

Introduction

Introduce yourself by answering the questions required to complete this section.

Mailing Address

Provide a mailing address.

External Profile Links

Provide links to your external profiles and upload your resume. Mentee resumes will be shared with mentors during the application process. After graduation, the resumes may be shared with prospective employers.

Skills

Click Skills CTA to add your current skills and the skills that you want to improve. These are important for the administrators and mentors to determine if you're a good fit for the program.

Demographics (optional)

This information is collected to compile, analyze, and report aggregate statistics on the diversity of participation in open source projects and communities, including opportunities through The Linux Foundation Mentorship Program. These statistics help us track progress toward achieving our diversity and inclusion goals.

Compliance Confirmation

Give Your Consent

You must check the box to confirm that you are not from a restricted country before completing your profile.

Terms and Conditions

You must select the checkbox to apply.

1. To review mentee applications **** Sign in to Mentorship, click on the My Account menu icon, and select My Projects from the dropdown.

2. Select the project card to navigate to the project detail page, and click on the Current Mentees tab to view the list of all the mentee applicants.

Please note the following application statuses:

• Pending - The mentee has applied to the mentorship program. The mentee application is ready for review when "Tasks Submitted" is displayed above the status dropdown.

• Accepted - mentee has been accepted to the program. Accepted mentees are also visible on the program Dashboard

• Withdrawn - mentee has withdrawn the application.

• Declined - mentee's application for the mentorship program has been declined.

• Graduated - mentee has successfully completed the mentorship program.

The Current Mentees Application Management section contains the following information:

Continue to:

Overview

The Linux Foundation Mentorship Program offers a structured, hands-on learning experience for individuals interested in open source software development. Mentees, whether students or experienced programmers, pair with mentors to learn and contribute to open source projects, all while being compensated for their work.

Goals of the Program

The primary goals of the Linux Foundation Mentorship Program are:

1. Skill Enhancement: Help mentees learn and enhance their technical skills, inspiring them to become long-term active contributors.

2. Cultural Understanding: Teach aspiring developers about open source culture and collaboration norms, guiding them to participate more effectively in the community.

3. Project Improvement: Strengthen projects and communities within the Linux ecosystem by enhancing security and release quality.

Program Structure

Prerequisite Tasks and Skill Evaluation

• Duration: 2 weeks (Not applicable to all projects)

Application Process

• Duration: 6 weeks

Review and Selection Process

• Duration: 2 weeks

Contract and HR Process

• Duration: 2 weeks

Full-Time Program

• Duration: 12 weeks (40 hours per week)

Part-Time Program

• Duration: 24 weeks (20 hours per week)

Applying to the Program

To apply to the Linux Foundation Mentorship Program, follow these steps:

1. Complete Prerequisite Tasks: Ensure you complete any required prerequisite tasks.

2. Evaluate Skills: Have your skills evaluated to ensure they align with the program's needs.

3. Apply: Submit your application through the provided form.

Contributing to Open Source Projects

During the program, mentees will work closely with mentors to contribute to open source projects. This involves:

• Learning best practices in open source development.

• Collaborating with other developers using tools like Git and GitHub.

• Enhancing existing projects or developing new features.

Career Opportunities

Successful participation in the program can lead to several career benefits:

• Job Security: Accepted mentees have a higher likelihood of securing jobs with companies participating in the program.

• Networking: Connect with professionals in the open source community, expanding your network.

• Learning: Gain practical experience in real-world projects, enhancing your resume.

Conclusion

The Linux Foundation Mentorship Program is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in open source software development. By providing hands-on learning and professional guidance, the program empowers participants to grow their skills, contribute to meaningful projects, and ultimately build a successful career in the tech industry.

For more information or to apply, visit the .

Mentoring people might sound interesting, however, quality mentoring requires commitment, willingness, and ability to take a leadership responsibility. Being a good mentor requires some specific skills that you can develop as mentioned below:

Communicate: Communicate with your mentee on a regular basis, whether it is to provide feedback, offer training, or check on the mentee’s progress. By keeping the line of communication open, you will build trust, respect, and a positive relationship that facilitates the successful completion of the project.

• Develop project plan, such as project objectives, milestones/deliverables, methodology, documentation for completion of the project

• Schedule weekly check-ins to review progress, blockers, upcoming tasks

• Clarify communication channels/norms with your project team, and broader community: email, chat, calls, wiki, and so on

• Be respectful of collaboration challenges across time zones and language/cultural differences

Mentor: Mentoring is a critical and essential part of a mentorship program, and an attribute that differentiates from regular employment. As a mentor, it’s important to provide honest feedback to mentees on their progress, professionalism and skill development.

• Set expectations early, preferably at the start of the program

• Set challenging but achievable goals and metrics on how to measure success

• Give praise for good work and offer critical constructive feedback. Be specific and provide suggestions for how to improve

Connect: To foster learning outside of your mentee’s job duties, encourage them to develop relationships outside of their immediate team. Allowing your mentees to gain a broader understanding of organization, industry, and potential career paths can help generate new ideas and make them a more effective and longer-term contributing member.

• Introduce mentees, who have successfully passed the exam, to potential employers helping them to grow in the open source community

• Provide resources for additional training

• Provide context on how the mentorship program is similar to other projects’ mentorship programs

Revisit: Periodically take a look at the learning objectives and expected outcomes established at the beginning of the mentorship program. Discuss what the mentees have learned and how it can be applied in future. Be flexible to adjust the project scope, learning objectives, and outcomes based on the mentee’'s background and skill set.

• Please keep in mind that the mentorship program is a learning opportunity for mentee, not a job with narrowly defined job description.

• Stay flexible to modify project scope/plan, learning objectives, and deliverables/outcomes. Document modified tasks, schedules, and project plans.

• Reframe mistakes and slow progress as opportunities to hone soft skills such as communication, effective ways to participate in open source community, working with distributed teams, and so on.

Below are the Mentorship enrollment form fields and their descriptions:

Important: Only program maintainers can access and manage mentors for their mentorship program. Users must have an LFID (Linux Foundation ID) to be invited. If they already have a mentor profile, they will be added with Approved status. If they don't have a mentor profile yet, they will be added with Pending status and receive an email to create their mentor profile.

1. Log in to Mentorship, click the My Mentorships tab.

2. Select the program for which you are a maintainer. Click the program card.

Follow these steps to apply for a mentorship program:

1. Log In: Sign in to the platform.

   • If you do not have a profile, select Become a Mentee from the navigation menu to create one.

1. To become a mentor for a mentorship program to

2. Click on Become a Mentor menu to create a mentor profile, and request to be to a program.

Top Reasons to Join the Mentorship Program:

🚀 Learn from Anywhere

Navigating the Mentorship Platform

Step 1: Accessing the Mentorship Platform Landing Page

To view the mentorship opportunities, navigate to the Mentorship Platform landing page. From here, you can access the following tabs:

The Mentorship Platform facilitates a structured remote learning environment for new open-source developers.

It is a valuable tool for individuals who want to grow and develop in their personal and professional lives because it gives them access to the knowledge, skills, and experience of someone more experienced.

Experienced project maintainers and contributors use the platform to mentor aspiring individuals and help them become contributors to the open-source community.

To get started:

1. Navigate to the platform:

   • The tab includes the mentorship programs enrolled on the platform, categorized by programs accepting mentee applications, in progress, and completed.

   • The tab includes profiles of all the participating mentors.

   • The tab includes profiles of currently participating and graduated mentees.

2. To view more information about the program, click on the program name:

To participate:

• Administrators:

• Mentees: and

• Mentors: and

Mentorships Tab

Sort and Filter

You can use the sort and filter tools to easily find and organize mentorship projects. The toolbar above the project cards includes:

• Sort: Organize projects by name, status, or update date

• Search: Find specific projects by typing their name

• Filter: Narrow down projects by skills, dates, status, and more

For detailed information about using these features, see .

Mentorship Program Card Information

Each Mentorship Program card displays the following information:

• Project Details: Click on the project title or logo to navigate to the project details page.

• Terms: View the current, future, or past mentorship project terms.

• Required Skills: See the technologies needed for mentees to apply to the project.

Mentees Tab

Mentee Profile Card Information

The Mentees tab displays mentee profile cards with the following information:

• Mentee Information:

  • Name and Avatar: Click on the name to navigate to the mentee's profile page.

• Skills: View the mentee's technical skills.

Mentors Tab

The Mentors tab displays mentor profile cards with the following information:

• Mentor Information:

  • Name and Avatar: Click on the name to navigate to the mentor profile page.

• Skills: View the mentor's technical skills.

After mentees submit their Expensify reports (see Submit Expensify Report to Receive Mentorship Stipend), you, as an administrator, will receive a notification email from Expensify. To process the report, follow these steps:

1. Open the Expensify notification email.

2. Click the “Approve” button in the email to be directed to the Expensify page, where you can approve or decline the report.

Conditions for Declining a Report

You may decline a report in the following scenarios:

• Incorrect Amount Filed: The mentee files for the wrong stipend amount (e.g., the total stipend is $3,000—paid in two installments of $1,500 each—but the mentee requests the full $3,000 in the first installment).

• Incomplete Tasks: The mentee did not complete the tasks assigned to them.

\

Listen to this audio 🎧 to know more about LFX mentors.

Benefits

Consider the following benefits for mentors who participate in the mentoring program:

• Give back by introducing new participants to project communities

• Pass along to mentees the skills and expertise you have developed

• Leverage mentees to help augment the existing developer community’s resources and efforts

• Grow your project’s community by helping new developers get involved

Eligibility Rules

The following eligibility rules apply to program applicants:

• Must be at least 18 years of age

• Must be a participant (administrator, contributor, and so on) in the project for which you want to be a mentor

• Should have significant experience in the subject and the skills that the mentees will be developing

Responsibilities

Consider the following mentorship responsibilities and duties before you apply to be a mentor: You will:

• Review applicant eligibility

• Review applicant contributions and be available to respond to applicant questions promptly

• Judge applicant applications based on completing tasks and acceptance of mentees

After receiving a successful performance evaluation, all mentees are required to submit an Expensify report to receive mentorship stipend payments. There are two stipend payments: the first one halfway through the mentorship and the second one upon successful completion of the program.

1. To open or close mentorship program applications to the

2. Select the My Mentorships tab

3. In the section

Overview

The Terms Tab is a management interface for project maintainers and owners to manage mentorship program terms. It provides a centralized dashboard to create, view, edit, and manage the lifecycle of program terms within a mentorship project.

Accessing the Terms Tab

1. Log in to Mentorship and click the My Mentorships tab.

2. Select the program for which you are a maintainer and click the program card.

3. On the project details page, click the Terms tab to view the list of all terms.

Note: You must be authenticated and have owner/maintainer permissions to access this tab. Unauthorized users will be redirected to the project's public page.

Features

Terms Overview Table

The Terms Tab displays a comprehensive table with the following columns:

Creating a New Term

1. Click the + Create Term button at the top of the page

2. Fill in the required fields in the modal dialog: - Name: A descriptive name for the term (max 50 characters) - Start Month: Select the month the term begins - Start Year: Enter the year the term begins (must be current year or later) - End Month: Select the month the term ends - End Year: Enter the year the term ends (must be >= start year)

3. Click Add Term

Important Constraints:

• You can have a maximum of 4 open terms per mentorship program at any time

• The Create Term button will be disabled if you already have 4 open terms

• Start and end dates must be in the future (current month or later)

Term Actions

Each term row has an actions menu (accessible via the ellipsis icon) with the following options:

Edit Term

• Modify the term name and dates

• Only available if the term has no applications

• Opens the same modal used for creating terms, pre-populated with current values

Close Term

• Available only for terms with open status

• Closes the term to new applications

• Warning: Closing a term will automatically decline all pending applications

Re-Open Term

• Available only for closed terms whose end date has not yet passed

• Allows the term to accept new applications again

• Disabled if you already have 4 open terms

Delete Term

• Permanently removes the term from the program

• Only available if the term has no applications

• A confirmation dialog will appear before the action is executed

Status Indicators

Term Should Be Closed Warning

If a term's end date has passed but it is still marked as open, a warning icon will appear next to the term name. Hover over this icon to display a message:

"This term should be closed because it has ended. Please close it to prevent new applications."

Term Cannot Be Closed Error

If a term's end date has passed but it is still marked as open and still has accepted mentees, an error icon will appear next to the Accepted column. Hover over this icon to display a message:

"This term cannot be closed until all accepted applicants are either graduated or declined. Please ensure there are zero accepted applicants before closing the term."

Business Rules

Term Limits

• Maximum of 4 open terms per mentorship program

• No limit on total number of terms (including closed terms)

Date Validation

• Start year must be the current year or a future year

• End year must be the current year or a future year

• End year must be greater than or equal to start year

Edit/Delete Restrictions

Terms can only be edited or deleted if they have no associated applications. This protects mentee data and application history.

Best Practices

1. Plan term dates carefully: Once applications are received, you cannot modify the term dates

2. Close terms promptly: When a term ends, close it to prevent new applications and provide clarity to mentees

3. Use descriptive names: Term names should clearly indicate the cohort or time period (e.g., "Summer 2026", "Q3 Cohort")

Troubleshooting

Create Term button is disabled

• Verify you have fewer than 4 open terms

• Check that you are properly authenticated

Cannot edit or delete a term

• The term has existing applications

• Consider closing the term instead of deleting it

Term status not updating

• Status updates run in the background

• Wait up to 5 minutes for changes to appear

• Refresh the page if needed

Redirected to project public page

• Your session may have expired; log in again

• Verify you have owner/maintainer permissions for this project

Overview

The Sort and Filter feature helps you easily find and organize mentorship projects on the Mentorship page. With these tools, you can:

• Sort projects by different criteria (like name, status, or when they were last updated)

• Search for specific projects by typing their name

• Filter projects using multiple criteria (skills, dates, status, and more)

• Reset all filters to start fresh

This feature is available in the Mentorships tab and works across all project categories: All Mentorships, Accepting Applications, In Progress, and Completed.

Where to Find It