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 Mentorship platform:

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

   • The Mentors tab includes profiles of all the participating mentors.

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

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

   • View mentorship program details

   • View participating mentors and mentees

To participate:

• Administrators: enroll your mentorship program

• Mentees: create a profile and apply to a program

• Mentors: create a profile and request to be added to a program

Mentorships Tab

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.

• Apply: Click on the Call-to-Action (CTA) to apply to the project.

• Application Status: The status is displayed when the project no longer accepts mentee applications.

• View Project Statistics: Click to donate to a project and view additional project details, including:

  • Mentors: Current project mentors.

  • Current Mentees: Mentees currently participating in the project.

  • Graduated Mentees: Mentees who completed the mentorship program.

  • Funding To Date: Total project funding received for mentee stipends.

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 profile page.

• Skills: View the mentee's technical skills.

• Status: See the current mentee status, such as Accepted or Graduated.

• Mentorship Team:

  • Mentors: View the mentors for the project in which the mentee is participating.

• Mentorship Projects:

  • Projects: See the mentorship project in which the mentee participates or completes.

• View Profile: Click on the Call-to-Action (CTA) to navigate to the mentee profile page.

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.

• Mentorship Activities:

  • Current Mentees: See the current project mentees for who the mentor is volunteering.

  • Graduated Mentees: View mentees who completed the program under the mentor's guidance.

• Projects: See the projects for which the mentor is volunteering.

• View Profile: Click on the Call-to-Action (CTA) to navigate to the mentor profile page.

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, you can click the mentorships 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 successfully 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 applications submissions, and act as a single point of contact for mentors, mentees and the Linux Foundation HR and finance teams.

Your Activities

Get started by enrolling your project.

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.

• End of Week 9: Third mentee evaluations are due (optional for mentors and program administrators).

• End of Week 12: Final mentee evaluations and mentee feedback/blog submission are due, and the second 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.

• End of Week 18: Third mentee evaluations are due (optional for mentors and program administrators).

• End of Week 24: Final mentee evaluations and mentee feedback/blog submission are due, and the second stipend payment (50% of the total amount) is approved.

After mentees submit their Expensify reports, as described in Submit Expensify Report to Receive Mentorship Stipend, you (administrators) receive an email from Expensify. Open the email, and click Approve in the email to navigate to the Expensify page to approve or decline the report.

Conditions applicable to Decline a Report:

You can decline a report if:

• Mentee accidentally files wrong amount. For example, if the total stipend to be paid to a mentee is $3000 which is paid in two halves, i.e. $1500 each, but the mentee files directly for $3000 in the first half.

• Mentee does not complete the tasks assigned to them.

Managing Tasks in the Mentorship Program

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

Accessing Your Tasks

1. Sign in to the Mentorship Program: Log in to the mentorship platform to access your tasks.

2. Select the My Tasks Tab: Once logged in, navigate to the "My Tasks" tab to view your assigned tasks.

Viewing and Managing Tasks

In the "Tasks Assigned To Me" section, you can view and manage the following types of tasks:

• Prerequisite Tasks: Review and complete any prerequisite tasks required for the mentorship program.

• Mentorship Milestone Tasks: View and complete tasks related to the mentorship program milestones.

Updating Task Status

To update the status of a task, follow these steps:

1. Upload a File (if required): If a task requires a file upload, complete the task by uploading the necessary file.

2. Change Task Status: Use the "Status" dropdown to update the task status to:

   • Pending: Indicate that the task is pending completion.

   • In Progress: Notify the mentorship admin and mentor(s) that you are working on the task.

   • Submitted: Notify the mentorship admin and mentor(s) that you have completed the task by uploading a file.

Task Status Descriptions

Below are the descriptions of the different task statuses:

• Pending: The task is pending completion.

• In Progress: You are currently working on the task.

• Submitted: You have completed the task and uploaded a file to notify the mentorship admin and mentor(s)

Mentorship programs are reviewed by the Linux Foundation before being published and 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 in to the Mentorship and select Enroll Your Project from the main navigation.

1. Complete the Mentorship Project Enrollment 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.

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.

2. Access Mentorship Details:

   • From the mentorship program details page, click on View Crowdfunding CTA to toggle to the funding information.

3. Access Funding Details:

   • From the crowdfunding project details page, click on View Mentorship CTA to toggle to the mentorship program information.

By toggling between the Mentorship and Crowdfunding platforms, users can gain a comprehensive understanding of the mentorship program's details and financial records.

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

2. In section Projects for which I am an Administrator, click on Edit CTA on the program card.

After a mentee applies to your program, you can view their profile before you accept or decline their application.

To view the mentee profile:

1. Go to your account and click My Projects from the drop-down list

2. Under Project for which I am an Administrator, click a project

3. Under Current Mentees and Past Mentees tabs, click a mentee profile **** to view profile details

   • Current Mentees shows mentees for the current term

   • Past Mentees shows mentees for the past terms

1. To open or close mentorship program applications Sign in to the Mentorship

2. Select the My Mentorships tab

3. In the section Programs for which I am an Administrator, click Open Applications/Close Applications CTA on the program card. Once the applications are closed, the Apply CTA button on the program card is no longer active and no new mentees can apply to your program.

NOTE: Closing the applications doesn't prevent mentees who started the application process from completing their prerequisite tasks.

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.

Program Administrator: As a program administrator, you will enroll in a mentorship program on the platform and act as a single point of contact for mentors, mentees, and the Linux Foundation 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.

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

Mentee: Mentees need to create a mentee 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:

Below are the Mentorship enrollment form fields and their descriptions:

Program Setup Section

Prerequisites Section

Program admins can select which prerequisite requirements mentees need to complete for their application to be considered for the program. Alternatively, they can create custom prerequisites by specifying names, due dates, and whether they require a file upload.

Terms and Conditions

The terms and conditions checkbox is mandatory and must be selected before the form can be submitted.

1. To manage mentee tasks, Sign in to Mentorship.

2. Click on the My Account menu icon, and select My Projects from the dropdown.

3. 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.

3. Click on Filter By Application Status dropdown to view accepted mentees.

View Mentee Tasks

1. Click View Tasks to view all the tasks that are assigned to mentee. Tasks Assigned to <Mentee> table appears with all the details.

2. Select or clear the Hide Prerequisite Tasks checkbox to view or hide the prerequisite tasks.

3. Click Minimize to minimize the task details for the mentee.

After a mentee submits a file for a task, you can view or download the file by clicking the respective icon beside a task, as shown below.

Change Status

Select a value from the Tasks Status drop-down list: In Progress, Submitted, Completed. When you update a task, the mentee receives an email informing them that the task is updated.

Note: Mentees can also change status of a task to either In Progress or Submitted by navigating to their accounts. If Mentees change their status, the same status also reflects on you.

Below is a description of each status:

Add Task

Click + Add Task to add a new task for a selected mentee or for all the accepted mentees. The Create Task page appears. Complete the form fields and click Add Task. When you create a task, the mentee applicant receives an email informing them that a new task is assigned.

Edit Task

Click Edit Task for a mentee task. The Edit Task dialog appears. Modify the task and click Submit.

You can add mentors to the project by adding their name during project enrollment. For details, see the Project Mentors row of Program Setup section of Mentorship Project Enrollment form.

Accepting Mentor Requests

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 Add to Project CTA in the email to navigate to the Edit Project form where you can add the mentor to the Project Mentors section.

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 contact a mentee to , click on My Projects tab.

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. Click a name of a mentee you would like to contact. You will be navigated to the mentee profile page.

3. Click on Contact dropdown to view the following options and select a contact method.

• When a phone number is available, a Call link is available.

• When an email is available, an Email link is available.

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 on the subject and the skills that the mentees will be developing

• Must not be subject to any obligations to third parties (such as contractual obligations to an employer) that would restrict or prohibit performing as a mentor

• Must be able to devote sufficient time to assisting one or more mentees a regularly throughout their mentorships

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 accept mentees

• Assign tasks for the mentee

• Track your mentees' progress

• Write a graduation report for the mentee and refer the graduate to companies for interview opportunities

1. To manage mentee applications **** Sign in to Mentorship, click on 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 - 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. This status will also apply when admin withdraws a mentee because of nonperformance.

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

• Graduated - mentee has completed the mentorship program.

The Current Mentees section contains the following information:

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

2. Complete the Eligibility Requirements section

• Are you at least 18 years of age, or will you be by the time the mentorship program starts

• Are you eligible to work in the country you reside in for the duration of the mentorship?

• Please select "No" to confirm that you do not have other mentee profile(s) on the Linux Foundation Mentorship platform and are not participating in other Linux Foundation mentorship project(s). Doing so will disqualify you from the program.

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

• User Information

• Introduction

• Mailing Address

• External Profile Links

• Skills

• Demographics

• Terms and Conditions

4. 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 +Add skill CTA to add your current skills and 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

Providing your demographics is optional. This information is collected for the purpose of compiling, analyzing, and disclosing aggregate statistics regarding the diversity of participation in open source projects and communities (including in The Linux Foundation Mentorship Program opportunities), to help track progress towards meeting our commitment to diversity initiatives.

Terms and Conditions

You must select the checkbox to submit the application.

Benefits

Mentees can grow their career 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.

NOTE: Mentees are not employed by the Linux Foundation. The Linux Foundation’s employment opportunities are available at .

Mentorship Stipends

Mentee stipends are paid in installments tied to mentee evaluations and satisfactory progress with program deliverables up to that point. The final installment is paid upon successful completion of the program. For additional stipend information and amounts please refer to

Your Activities

Get started by creating your profile, then continue with the following activities:

1. To apply to a mentorship program to the . If you haven't created a profile yet, click on Become a Mentee navigation menu.

2. If you have a mentee profile, you will be presented with projects that match your skills. Click the Apply CTA on a mentorship card to apply.

3. You will receive a confirmation message and a confirmation email stating that your application was received.

1. To view your application status, to the 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.

• Withdrawn: You have withdrawn your application from the mentorship program.

• Graduated: You have completed the mentorship program and have graduated. We wish you continued success in your endeavors.

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.

Pre-Mentorship Checklist

Before you begin the mentorship program, please ensure you have the following items ready:

Personal Information

• LinkedIn Profile: Share the web address of your LinkedIn profile.

• GitHub Profile: Share the web address of your GitHub profile.

• Resume: Upload your resume in a PDF, DOC, or DOCX format.

Avatar and Profile Picture

• Avatar Image: Upload an image file for your avatar in JPG, PNG, or SVG format. The maximum file size is 2 MB.

Project Information

• Project Name: Provide the name of the project you would like to mentor individuals on.

• Project Repository: Share the URL of the project repository.

• Project Administrator: Provide the name and email address of the project administrator.

Having these items ready will help ensure a smooth onboarding process and allow you to focus on mentoring and guiding individuals through the project.

1. Complete the user profile form. Note: Red asterisks indicate required fields.

1. Select the checkbox and click Submit. Click on My Profile navigation menu to view and edit your profile. Note: The Project Admin of the mentorship program you requested to be added to as a mentor will review your profile before you're added to the program.

User Information

The Linux Foundation uses your contact information to correspond with you.

Some fields are pre-filled with your Linux Foundation account values.

Use an avatar (image) to represent yourself. Your avatar appears on your mentor's card under Mentees. Click Browse to upload a JPG, PNG, or SVG file.

Introduction

Introduce yourself to project administrators and inform them why you would excel as a mentor for a project.

Skills

Click in the Skill Name field, select a skill, and click +Add skill to add your current skills.

External Profile Links

Showcase your experience by providing links to your external profile pages, and uploading your resume file. Your external profile links will appear on your mentor card in Mentorship.

Mentorship Project Details

Select the LFX mentorship you would like to join as a mentor, and the program administrator will be notified of your request.

After the project maintainer adds you to the project, you will get an email notification informing you that you are added to the project, and the status changes to Added.

Terms and Conditions

Read the Terms and Conditions, and select the checkbox.

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 Remove From Program CTA next to the program name they want to be removed from.

1. To review mentee applications **** to , 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:

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.

To create and submit an Expensify Report:

1. Sign in to . Note: Ensure that you use the same email address that you used to set up your account on Expensify.

2. Under your account, select the Reports tab.

1. On the Reports window, click New Report located in the top-right corner of the screen.

1. Click Add Expenses to create and add a new expense.

1. Click New Expenses to create a new expense on the Add Expenses To Report page.

1. Create a new expense by completing the fields as follows:

• Merchant: Your name

• Date: Date of the stipend payment (today's date)

• Total: 50% of the total amount of your stipend payment for midterm and final evaluation periods.

• Category: Select Mentorship from the dropdown list.

• Projects: Search and select the appropriate mentorship program for which the mentee has been accepted.

• Description: Name of your mentorship - mentee stipend payment <#> of <#> For example: "Linux Kernel - mentee stipend payment 1 of 2"

1. Click Save.

1. After being redirected to the Reports page, click Submit from the top left corner.

1. (Optional) Provide an individual's email address in the CC field if you want to share the report with the individual.

2. Click Send.

Submit an Expense Report

1. After you submit your report, the approver reviews your reimbursement request and approves or rejects it. Next, a Linux Foundation administrator validates the expense and approves or rejects the reimbursement. Expensify funds your account.

2. Upon approval notification, go to your account to access your reimbursement money.

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

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

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:

• Mentorships: View available mentorship opportunities.

• Mentors: Explore profiles of experienced mentors.

• Mentees: Discover profiles of individuals seeking mentorship.

Step 2: Viewing a Mentor's Profile

1. Click on the Mentors tab.

2. Select a mentor card of interest.

3. On the mentor's profile page, you can view:

   • Introduction: A brief overview of the mentor's background and expertise.

   • Featured Skills: A list of the mentor's notable skills and areas of expertise.

   • LinkedIn Profile: A link to the mentor's LinkedIn profile for further information.

   • Projects and Mentees: A list of projects and mentees the mentor has worked with.

Step 3: Viewing a Mentee's Profile

1. Click on the Mentees tab.

2. Select a mentee card of interest.

3. On the mentee's profile page, you can view:

   • Introduction: A brief overview of the mentee's background and goals.

   • Featured Skills: A list of the mentee's notable skills and areas of expertise (if available).

   • GitHub Profile: A link to the mentee's GitHub profile for further information.

   • LinkedIn Profile: A link to the mentee's LinkedIn profile for further information.

   • Resume: A link to the mentee's resume for further information.

   • Projects and Mentors: A list of projects and mentors the mentee is associated with.

How much stipend will I receive?

Stipend amounts 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.

What is Purchasing Power Parity? (PPP)

Purchasing Power Parity is a way to estimate the exchange rate between two currencies to determine equivalent purchasing power. For details, refer following links:

• Wikipedia: Purchasing Power Parity

• World Bank: What is Purchasing Power Parity?

What is The Linux Foundation Mentorship Program?

The Linux Foundation Mentorship program serves an important role in creating a structured hands-on learning opportunity for mentees—students, new and active programmers who want to learn open source software development— to gain exposure to open source development. The program matches mentees, based on their skills and interests, with mentors to learn and contribute to open source projects, and get paid for it.

Accepted mentees get opportunities to learn open-source software development, and get hired by the potential employers participating in the program. The interesting part is you write code for the open-source software products that are used by the whole world– sounds exciting, doesn't it? So, take pride. Apply to the Mentorship program to be guided by Mentors, and become a part of open-source communities; learn, get paid, and get hired.

Goals of the Program

This program is designed to help developers with necessary skills— many of whom are first-time open source contributors— experiment, learn, and contribute effectively to open source communities, which can initially seem overwhelmingly vast.

Following are the core goals of the Mentorship Program:

• Help mentees learn and enhance their technical skills, and inspire them to become long-term active contributors.

• Teach aspiring developers the open source culture and collaboration norms, and guide them to participate in open source community more effectively by using collaboration tools and infrastructure.

• Strengthen projects and the communities that are crucial to the Linux ecosystem by improving security and quality of releases.

• Provide a skilled and diverse talented pool of prospective employees trained by experts to companies in the ecosystem of related technology.

• Add well-trained and educated diverse talent to projects, and inspire them to write code for open-source software products for the benefit of the entire community and users.

Program Structure

The Mentorship program is a 12-week full-time or 24-week part-time training program. There will be a time period for prerequisite tasks completion, skill evaluation, review and selection process prior to starting of actual training.

1. Mentee prerequisite and skill evaluation process - 2 weeks (not applicable to all projects)

2. Mentee application process - 6 weeks

3. Review and selection process - 2 weeks

4. Mentee contract and HR process - 2 weeks

5. Mentorship full-time program - 12 weeks (40 hrs/week)

6. Mentorship part-time program - 24 weeks (20 hrs/week)

7. Write and publish a blog about your experience and the project you completed. Get in touch with project admins for help.

8. Get digital Letter of Completion

9. Attending an event: a project event scheduled during/after the mentorship program

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.

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

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 Added.

4. You can remove yourself from the program by selecting Remove From Program CTA.

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

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

The Mentorship program is a phase-by-phase progress:

1. Reviewing Submitted Application: After you submit your application, and apply to project(s), it takes a minimum of two weeks of time to evaluate your application. You are advised to complete the prerequisite tasks during this time period failing which your application will not be considered for the mentorship program. You can check your application status by navigating to your Linux Foundation account. For details about how to submit application, and apply to project(s), see How to Apply.

2. Mentee Contract: If you are selected for the mentorship program, you will be contacted through email or phone, and you will have to undergo contract and HR processes.

3. Mentee Working: This is the time when you actually learn and contribute to the community. During this period, you are expected to dedicate your quality time, and work with your mentor in structuring a project planning, understanding open source culture, development tooling and infrastructure, making steady progress towards completing objectives, milestones, and tasks as defined in the project plan, and actively contribute to the community to successfully complete the course. You can start by making small contributions to the projects. You are highly encouraged to contribute to documentation.

4. Evaluation: You will be evaluated on a periodic basis by your mentors.The reason behind this is to get feedback from your mentor about your progress, and to check if you are completing your objectives and milestones as per the project planning , and are actively participating in community discussions, and so on. Note: Depending on the project, there will be three or four evaluations during the entire program.

5. Stipend: A stipend payment will be released after the second and forth evaluation. Stipends are released if your evaluation report shows satisfactory progress of your mentorship training, and the total stipend amount can vary from project to project.

6. Letter of Completion: If you successfully complete all your project milestones, deliverables and assigned tasks, which may include an exam, you will be asked to complete a feedback survey before you can officially graduate and receive a digital Letter of Completion.

By now, you should have a general idea about the Mentorship program. But, why bother about it at all? Well, if you are a Mentee or a developer who wants to learn and work on open-source software projects, then you have come to the right platform to fulfill your dream. Following are some reasons why you should apply for the mentorship program:

An Amazing Remote Learning Experience

This is a remote opportunity and there is no need to relocate or move to participate. During the Mentorship program, you not only are guided by the experts to hone your skills, but also get an opportunity to acquire some new ones, such as coding, writing, testing, project management, and many more. It's a great opportunity for you to grow in the world of open-source technologies. As mentees, you gain substantial exposure to real-world software development by working closely with active developers in the community. Following are excerpts of what our mentees say about the program:

“The Linux Kernel Mentorship is Life Changing. Throughout my internship, I have learned that the kernel community is very helpful, kind, and willing to help new developers. Working on open-source projects was a very liberating experience for me. There are no barriers in open source space. Anyone can work on open-source code irrespective of their nationality, creed, or company affiliations, which I find very beautiful and liberating. I believe it is a very intellectually stimulating experience for anyone.”

– Kelsey Skunberg, Linux Kernel Mentorship Program Mentee

“Before this internship I mainly worked on theoretical blockchain and cryptography research at Purdue University, and this internship gave me a perfect balance between development and research.”

– Jason You, mentee for Hyperledger Caliper visualization

"Initially open source development was new territory for me, and it was a bit intimidating at first (technical skills aside). But then I got to present my project at the next Hyperledger event. That was my first close-up experience with the Hyperledger community, and it opened up a world of possibilities. I met the maintainers of many projects, we exchanged ideas, and they answered many of my questions. And suddenly the open source Hyperledger ecosystem wasn’t intimidating anymore."

– Attila Klenik, Hyperledger Summer Intern Program alum and current mentor.

Get paid while learning

Mentees are eligible to receive a stipend, which is paid in two installments, provided that regular interval evaluations show you're making satisfactory progress. The final installment will be paid upon successful mentorship completion.

Get Hired

After you successfully complete the mentorship program, get connected to potential employers who are focused on your project and are offering interview opportunities. Your mentor may also refer you to a company.

Note: Any interactions you have with a company are strictly between you and the company, and are not part of or connected to the Mentorship program, nor do such interactions involve the Linux Foundation.

Hone your developer skills

As a mentee, you can apply to specific projects to learn new technologies.

Involve in the Community and build network

As a mentee, you get introduced to open source development infrastructure, tooling, and culture. You get the opportunity to build a network with the open-source communities. Not only do you get quite a cooperative community that stays one step ahead to help you during the entire program, you also develop close working relationships with open source professionals and industry business leaders to expand your professional network.

Take Pride

Think of the moment when your first PR (pull request) gets committed upstream in some application that will be used by the other developers across the globe. What a pride-taking moment! Isn’t it?

“The Linux Kernel Mentorship program was a life changing experience. Working on open source projects was a very liberating experience for me. There are no barriers in open source space. Anyone can work on open source code irrespective of their nationality, creed or company affiliations, which I find very beautiful and liberating. I believe it is a very intellectually stimulating experience for anyone.”

– Bharath Vedartham, Linux Kernel Mentee

“I had the honor of participating in the Linux Kernel Mentorship Program. Throughout the mentorship, I grew very fond of working on open source projects, learned to work with the open source communities, and my confidence as a developer has grown tremendously. The application process gave me the foundation needed to contribute to the Linux kernel by teaching me how to build patches, debug, complete boot tests, and start working with open source communities. I was able to grow these new skills throughout the mentorship program while working on my selected project.”

– Kelsey Skunberg, Linux Kernel Mentorship Program Mentee

“Open source development was new territory for me, and it was a bit intimidating at first. But then I got to present my project work on the next Hyperledger event. That was my first close-up experience with the Hyperledger community, and it opened up a world of possibilities. I met the maintainers of many projects, we exchanged ideas, and they answered many of my questions.It is safe to say that this whole experience put me on the track to get more involved with specific projects, and later becoming a maintainer of Hyperledger Caliper. And, as the next step on the road, I had the pleasure to mentor a Caliper-related internship project this year.”

– Attila Klenik, Hyperledger Summer Intern Program alum and current mentor\

\

Research: Before you ask questions, you are advised to take some time to find the answer by yourself, either using public channels like stackoverflow, medium or check with other mentees in the channel. This way it helps you to enhance your research and analytical skills. Even if you don’t find an answer, it ultimately sharpens your question.

Be Inclusive: It’s not just between you and your mentor. This mentorship program gives you an opportunity to interact with the entire community and its members. So, interact with other members and ensure that you follow the code of conduct and professionalism. Though you are allowed to socialize with the community on a professional level, know where to draw the line.

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.

• Clarify communication channels/norms with your mentor(s), project team, and broader community: email, chat, calls, wiki, and etc.

• Be aware of communication challenges across time zones and language/cultural differences. Be on time for scheduled meetings and be respectful of your mentor’s time (remember your mentors are volunteers).

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions, be upfront about gaps in skill and knowledge.

• Inform your mentor(s) of vacation or breaks in advance and plans to make up for lost days.

Connect: Gaining a broader understanding of the open source community, industry, and potential career paths can help generate new ideas and make you a more effective and long-term contributing member of the community.

• Take the initiative to network with other professionals beyond your immediate team that you come in contact with either remotely or F2F at hackfest, meetup, bootcamp, or conferences and so on.

• Use project mailing list to reach out to and connect with the current cohort of peer mentors.

• Explore projects and understand how the open source community is organized, for example Working Groups and Special Interest Groups, and how you may be able to participate or contribute.

‌ Document: Documenting your progress, agreed-on project plan, weekly goals/tasks, milestones, changes/modifications helps keep yourself on track and others you work with on the same page.

• Develop a project plan at the start of the program and refine/revist/document changes as things progress

• Maintain a log to track your progress and consider using the log as the basis of discussions during your weekly check-ins with mentor(s)

• Work on project documentations as part of deliverables so that code can be used by others and to continue the development momentum

Give Feedback: At the end of the program you are asked to provide a feedback and answer several questions that will be used in blog posts about the Linux Foundation Mentorship program.

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

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

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.

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.

4. Communicate constructively and avoid demeaning behavior or language.

5. Seek, accept, and offer objective work criticism, and acknowledge properly the contributions of others.

6. Be honest about your own qualifications, and about any circumstances that might lead to conflicts of interest.

7. Respect the privacy of others and the confidentiality of data you access.

8. With respect to cultural differences, be conservative in what you do and liberal in what you accept from others, but not to the point of accepting disrespectful, unprofessional or unfair or unwelcome behavior or advances.

9. Promote the rules of this Code and take action (especially if you are in a leadership position) to bring the discussion back to a more civil level whenever inappropriate behaviors are observed.

10. Stay on topic: Make sure that you are posting to the correct channel and avoid off-topic discussions. Remember when you update an issue or respond to an email you are potentially sending to a large number of people.

11. Step down considerately: Members of every project come and go. When you leave or disengage from the project, in whole or in part, we ask that you do so in a way that minimizes disruption to the project. This means you should tell people you are leaving and take the proper steps to ensure that others can pick up where you left off.

You have done everything, starting from creating a profile to finding an exciting project, and completing the prerequisite tasks. But, you didn’t get selected. That’s sad, but do not lose hope.

We suggest you to:

• Ask for feedback on your application

• Try new projects

• Stay connected

• Don’t give up— Keep trying

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. \

Work with your Mentor

Depending on projects, a mentor will be assigned to you throughout the program, from the application process time period to course completion. So, it is your responsibility to actively align with your mentor to ensure that you have completed all the tasks during the application process to be accepted. After being accepted as a mentee, go hand-in-hand with your mentor to ensure that you are learning effectively, getting answers to your questions, and are contributing to the project.

• Be proactive, and reach out to mentor(s) to schedule weekly check in meetings. Spend one of the 1st meetings aligning on expectations, communication channels/norms/tools, any vacation or academic scheduling conflict.

• Set up your development environment and tools and do some practice.

• Start contributing to your project, such as by writing clean codes, or clear instructions in the documents, and get them reviewed by your mentor on a timely basis. Ask for feedback or suggestions on your progress, and seek advice to perform well.

• During the application process time period,work on a project plan with your mentor that includes project objectives, milestones/deliverables, methodology, documentation. Project plan should be posted on the wiki for transparency and accountability at the beginning of your application in the program.

That said, respect your mentor’s time. Your mentor is volunteering his/her time to help you grow, taking time out of his/her busy schedule. So, regularly attend the scheduled meetings, provide your work status and take as much advantage as you can from your mentor to learn. Keep in mind that your mentor is the most valuable person to help you successfully graduate from the mentorship program.

Learn and Practice Open Source Culture

It can be intimidating initially if you are new to the open source world. However, always maintain the culture when you are working in an environment, as Bill S. Preston Esq says—“Stick to the Open Source Culture : Be excellent to each other.”

• It is synchronous in nature. Most collaboration is done via email, forum posts, mailing lists, and pull requests.

• Cooperation and consensus building is the greatest challenge.

• Because other people can’t see your face or hear your voice, emotions are lost and intent muddled.

Open source development is truly global. All cultures, all languages, all time zones, and all continents--yes, even Antarctica.

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

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.

You can have a look at some useful resources:

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

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

• Knowledge Base Articles: You can find information related to advice to mentees, mentors, project applicants, by visiting the wiki page of the project.

• Blog Posts: You can find information related to the Linux Foundation Mentorship program on these blog pages:

  • https://www.linuxfoundation.org/resources/blog/ and

  • https://www.hyperledger.org/blog/2018/11/16/the-journey-to-becoming-a-hyperledger-contributor

  Following are some blog posts written by mentees, sharing their experience:

  • https://www.linuxfoundation.org/blog/2019/09/the-linux-kernel-mentorship-is-life-changing/

  • https://www.linuxfoundation.org/blog/2019/11/the-linux-kernel-mentorship-program-was-a-life-changing-experience/

  • https://www.hyperledger.org/blog/2019/09/19/2019-summer-mentee-project-update-analyzing-hyperledger-fabric-ledger-and-transactions-using-elasticsearch-and-kibana

  • https://www.hyperledger.org/blog/2019/12/12/2019-summer-mentee-project-update-design-effective-os-to-manage-blockchain-networks

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.

What is The Linux Foundation Mentorship Program?

The Linux Foundation Mentorship program, developed by Linux Foundation, serves an important role in creating a structured hands-on learning opportunity for mentees—students, new and active programmers who want to learn open source software development— to gain exposure to open source development. The program matches mentees, based on their skills and interests, with mentors to learn and contribute code to open source projects, and get paid for it. This program serves an important role in keeping open source communities strong, healthy, and sustainable.

The Mentorship program brings in the accepted mentees and mentors from participating projects to a single platform. Accepted mentees get opportunities to learn open-source software development, and get hired by the potential employers participating in the program. A structured and well-defined mentoring program is crucial to attract and develop new talent. In a nutshell, it is all about making connections between new developers and experts in communities, and prospective employers, and get more open source code written for the benefit of all.

‌Goals of the Program

‌The Mentorship program is designed to help people with necessary skills, many of whom are first-time open source contributors, to experiment, learn, and contribute effectively to open source communities, which can initially seem overwhelmingly vast.

Following are the core goals of the Mentorship program:

• Help mentees learn and enhance their technical skills, and inspire them to become long-term active contributors.

• Teach aspiring developers the open source culture and collaboration norms, and guide them to participate in open source community more effectively by using collaboration tools and infrastructure.

• Strengthen projects and the communities that are crucial to the Linux ecosystem by improving security and quality of releases.

• Provide a skilled and diverse talented pool of prospective employees trained by experts to companies in the ecosystem of related technology.

• Add well-trained and educated diverse talent to projects, and inspire them to write code for open-source software products for the benefit of the entire community and users.

Program Structure

The Linux Foundation Mentorship program lasts three months 12-weeks for full-time terms, or six months, 24-weeks for part-time terms. As a mentor, you will be engaged with the mentees throughout the program, starting with the application process.

Please see Program Schedule & Timeline for term schedule and activity timeline.

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.

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.\

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

• Model desirable behaviors, workflow, processes, and ways of working

• Complete quarterly evaluation on a periodic basis to bring any feedback to project maintainer and share/discuss the results with your mentee openly

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

• Depending on the project flexibility, ask mentees review each others’ code and provide feedback as a collaborative development exercise

• Enable mentee to participate in the open source community with more confidence and independence

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.

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\

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 are passionate about teaching and guiding aspiring developers, many of whom may be first time open-source contributors.

• You are eager to bring in new perspectives, ideas, new talent into open-source community and projects.

• You believe that the potential contributions of the mentees, by completing this mentorship program, could add value to the larger project community of which you're an active developer or a maintainer.

It’s not just us telling good about our mentorship program, listen to what our mentors say about this program:

“It is really satisfying as a mentor to see someone soak up all the new knowledge and put it to good use.”

– Hans Verkuil, mentor for Linux Kernel Mentorship Program

“The first thing I would like to emphasize is that this is not just a summer job for the interns. During the internship, they had a chance to get to know the intricacies of different Hyperledger projects. They also worked closely with mentors who guided them throughout their work. But above all else, they became part of an open source community.”

– Attila Klenik, mentor for Hyperledger

“I have always enjoyed sharing knowledge, and this program gave me the opportunity to do that. My proudest moment easily was when my intern spoke about how the things we taught her during the internship directly applied to her current classes. As I mentioned above, our first goal was to make sure our intern learned enough that she could apply it to the rest of her career.”

– Swetha Repakula, mentor for Running Web Assembly Smart Contracts in Fabric

“I had the satisfaction of supervising a hardworking intern who was able to create running code for the seemingly difficult idea of running Solidity contracts on Fabric. My hope is that the project does not end with the culmination of the internship and sparks interest among other members of the community.”

– Salman A. Baset, mentor for Running Solidity Smart Contracts on Hyperledger Fabric

“Mentoring has been a great experience for me. I got a wide selection of candidates and could choose people well suited by giving practice tasks. During the mentorship, my mentees were very excited and had a lot of energy, -- something only seen in people starting out. They were hardworking and were able to make good contributions and bring fresh ideas to the table. It improved my knowledge in the area as well (when you teach you learn again) while also getting some work done (which otherwise I would have to make time to do myself). My menees are now planning to continue to work in Linux kernel space and I'm glad that I got an opportunity to add more contributors to the kernel. I have also networked the me mentees with other engineers in the area I'm working on and further given them more opportunities to contribute in the future. I hope they continue even after the mentorship program.”

– Joel Fernandes, mentor for Linux Kernel Mentorship Program\

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.

Conduct Introductory Session

Your community is a collection of people from across the globe. So, introducing mentees to the community and asking sentences to introduce themselves make mentees feel comfortable and help them effectively participate in the communication channel without any hesitation. Conducting a video conference is advisable. This way people from across the globe will get a chance to see each other that makes communication more engaging.

Keep the Communication Open

Effective communication between you and your mentee is the key to a successful mentorship program. This ensures that mentees are making progress and mentors are helping mentees resolve blockers, readjust milestones/tasks if needed and so on. Also, always share your contact details if you update, let Mentees know about your leaves very before. However, ensure that you have provided enough tasks to complete before you go on vacation.

Schedule Regular Meetings

Regular meetings help you to keep a good track of mentee statuses and to know if they have any concerns to raise. Considering the remote training of this mentorship program, it’s always advisable to hear from mentees more often than once a week.

Discuss on Status Report

Depending on projects, mentees will send periodic status reports. Discuss with mentees and finalize the format and frequency of status report well ahead of the program starts. You can send them a template to refer to.

Choose Public Communication Channel

For queries and other project related discussions, always choose, ask and encourage mentees to choose public channels on various communication mediums, depending on your project. This way, it helps all other members to understand and get answers even before they ask certain questions.

Let Mentees Lead Occasionally

As a mentor, you are not just teaching mentees, but also you are preparing future mentors. So, at times, when you are asked any question that you have explained earlier, ask mentees to answer the question in the channel. It boosts their confidence, and lets them grow their leadership quality. Pitch in and take control if you see that things are not going in the right direction.

Long term view

Evaluate your mentee from the view point of current project at hand, as well as long term prospects to become successful open source developer. Ask yourself if a mentee candidate can become a productive member of the community. “If mentee continues with the rest of the program, do you believe mentee will become a productive member of the kernel community?”

Be prepared to make tough decisions when a mentee isn’t meeting project/program requirements in collaboration with the Project Maintainer(s). The primary goal is training the next generation of open source developers.\

The very first responsibility that makes you a good mentor is selecting the right fit (mentee) for your project. This way it helps both you and the organization in getting the right candidate who eventually becomes a key player for the project.

A helpful starting point to select the right candidate is to identify why a mentee is interested in applying to the mentorship program, and what do they expect after successfully graduating from the program. Thankfully, has a well defined application process for mentees which will help you to decide. Also, as a mentor, you are expected to work with mentees during the application process so that you get enough time to choose the right candidate for this program.

Apart from this, there are some techniques that you should consider while selecting a mentee:

• Mentee Profile: Have a look at Mentee profiles. Mentees should have required technical and communication skills to be accepted.

• Past Performance: Check if the candidate has already been a mentee for other projects. Inquire for their past performance. Past performance will help you evaluate mentee’s interest and caliber.

• Eagerness to Learn: Mentees should have an enthusiasm to learn open source software development and culture. Try to understand their motivation behind applying to this program. Is this just to complete a summer course or getting famous, or do they have a keen interest to learn and contribute to open source projects?

• Enough Time in a Day: Ask mentees for their other summer plans, if they have a full-time job or number of projects they have applied or are willing to apply. This gives a better picture if the mentee is really interested in this particular mentorship program, and the number of projects helps you decide if the mentee can really dedicate sufficient time to your project. Even if people show confidence that they will be able to focus on your project along with other plans or full-time jobs, you shouldn’t make a decision based on their confidence. It’s your call, because their availability is going to impact the smoothness of this project. Encourage them to cut down on other plans if they really want to learn and grow in open source software development.

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.

It can be intimidating initially if you are mentoring an open source group for the first time. Be it teaching a large number of mentees from across the globe, or answering their questions, or scheduling meetings considering the different time zones of mentees– the method of training is different than classroom training. So, always maintain the culture when you are teaching in an environment, as Bill S. Preston Esq says—“Stick to the Open Source Culture : Be excellent to each other.”

Open source development is truly global. All cultures, all languages, all time zones, and all continents--yes, even Antarctica.

• It is asynchronous in nature. Most collaboration is done via email, forum posts, mailing lists, and pull requests.

• Cooperation and consensus building is the greatest challenge.

• Because other people can’t see your face or hear your voice, emotions are lost and intent muddled.

You can have a look at some useful resources:

• Mentee Guide: You can read the Mentee Guide to know more about what is a mentee expected throughout the program.

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

• Knowledge Base Articles: You can find information related to advice to mentees, mentors, project applicants, by visiting the wiki page of the project.

• Blog Post: You can find information related to the Mentorship program at:

  • https://www.linuxfoundation.org/resources/blog/ and

  • https://www.hyperledger.org/blog

  Following are some blog posts written by mentors, sharing their experience:

  • https://www.hyperledger.org/blog/2018/09/14/71697

  • https://www.hyperledger.org/blog/2017/09/14/mentorship-at-hyperledger-five-interns-share-their-appreciation-for-great-mentors

You can get complete information about a project from the wiki page and the project details page on the mentorship platform.

How much time is expected from Mentors to commit to mentoring?

There is no fixed number of hours set for mentors as long as they manage to help mentees complete project milestones and finally the mentorship program. That said, mentors are expected to provide quality time as this impacts the overall performance of the organization.

Are mentees encouraged to make a career of 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. Linux Foundation also sponsors mentees to attend conferences so that they get a chance to present their work to 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.

How many mentorship terms are there per year?

The Linux Foundation offers mentorship programs around the year with specific term dates. Please check the projects of your interest to find details of the program term dates.

How long are mentors engaged in the program?

It might vary based on project guidelines. In general, there is an application period and formal program participation/contribution. Mentors can be engaged with the community even after the completion of the program.

What makes this program stand out?

Travel Funding is the eye-catching part of this program. Yes, additional travel funds are provided to mentees, who successfully complete their projects, to support travel to a project relevant or community specific event.

Is the mentee selection process transparent and in the open?

Yes, 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 mentors 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 mentor applications from Russia, Belarus, or the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LNR). However, mentors located within Ukraine but outside of the DNR and LNR can apply to the LFX mentorship programs.

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.\

Successful mentorship starts with proper planning at the start of the project. As a mentor, set expectations at the beginning of the program. Even if mentors take a call in setting expectations, it’s always advisable to collaborate with mentees while documenting project planning and expectations as mentees need to agree on what is expected from them to do.

Following are some points to consider while setting expectations:

Expect Leaves: Ensure that you have considered planned and occasional leaves, such as holiday times, health issues, etc. Discuss with mentees and finalize how many hours mentees can dedicate per week, and talk about reachable goals as well.

Consider Mentee Inputs: Ensure that you have Mentee inputs before finalizing on the project expectations in terms of weekly hours and deliverables. At times, mentees, especially those who are new to open source development, might agree initially for everything, but might not be able to stick to the agenda afterwards which will impact the learning program. So, it is your responsibility to encourage them, make them comfortable, and ask questions related to planned leaves, if mentees are using any cyber cafe for the internet (depending on mentee’s geographical locations), and some more so that things can be planned better.

Be Prepared for Unusual Happenings: Even if everything is planned mutually, there might be times when mentee can’t show up in the scheduled meetings or fail to submit a deliverable because of some unavoidable environmental or natural problems, for example natural calamities, or sudden health issues, and so on. Keep in mind these situations while setting expectations, but do not express them to mentees. Break Goals: Break the bigger goals into chunks for easy tracking and for making this easier for mentees to achieve mageable goals. This way it also boosts mentees’ confidence when they reach a milestone.

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 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

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.

4. Communicate constructively and avoid demeaning behavior or language.

5. Seek, accept, and offer objective work criticism, and acknowledge properly the contributions of others.

6. Be honest about your own qualifications, and about any circumstances that might lead to conflicts of interest.

7. Respect the privacy of others and the confidentiality of data you access.

8. With respect to cultural differences, be conservative in what you do and liberal in what you accept from others, but not to the point of accepting disrespectful, unprofessional or unfair or unwelcome behavior or advances.

9. Promote the rules of this Code and take action (especially if you are in a leadership position) to bring the discussion back to a more civil level whenever inappropriate behaviors are observed.

10. Stay on topic: Make sure that you are posting to the correct channel and avoid off-topic discussions. Remember when you update an issue or respond to an email you are potentially sending to a large number of people.

11. Step down considerately: Members of every project come and go. When you leave or disengage from the project, in whole or in part, we ask that you do so in a way that minimizes disruption to the project. This means you should tell people you are leaving and take the proper steps to ensure that others can pick up where you left off.

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

• 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 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.

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. \

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

Docs open the Linux Foundation Product Documentation. Support opens the Help Center. FAQ opens the Mentorship FAQs.