• dsimcha <dsimcha yahoo.com> Apr 08 2011
• Fawzi Mohamed <fawzi gmx.ch> Apr 08 2011
• Ishan Thilina <ishanthilina gmail.com> Apr 08 2011
• Andrei Alexandrescu <SeeWebsiteForEmail erdani.org> Apr 08 2011
• Fawzi Mohamed <fawzi gmx.ch> Apr 08 2011
• Luca Boasso <luke.boasso gmail.com> Apr 08 2011
• Andrei Alexandrescu <SeeWebsiteForEmail erdani.org> Apr 08 2011
• dsimcha <dsimcha yahoo.com> Apr 08 2011
• Andrei Alexandrescu <SeeWebsiteForEmail erdani.org> Apr 09 2011
• dsimcha <dsimcha yahoo.com> Apr 09 2011
• Luca Boasso <luke.boasso gmail.com> Apr 08 2011
• Jens Mueller <jens.k.mueller gmx.de> Apr 09 2011

dsimcha <dsimcha yahoo.com> writes:

I've been looking over some of the GSoC proposals and I've noticed that 
most aren't very detailed.  It seems most of the students have only a 
very rough idea of what they want to do and plan on filling in the 
details at the beginning of the project.  I don't have experience with 
GSoC and I'm trying to understand whether this is a problem or is what's 
expected.  How detailed are the proposals supposed to be?

Fawzi Mohamed <fawzi gmx.ch> writes:

On 8-apr-11, at 15:40, dsimcha wrote:

 I've been looking over some of the GSoC proposals and I've noticed  
 that most aren't very detailed.  It seems most of the students have  
 only a very rough idea of what they want to do and plan on filling  
 in the details at the beginning of the project.  I don't have  
 experience with GSoC and I'm trying to understand whether this is a  
 problem or is what's expected.  How detailed are the proposals  
 supposed to be?


I don't have experience with GSoC either, but I fear that the very  
simple "I would like to work on X" proposal will have to be discarded.
As andrei said the students have to convince us that they can do the  
project, and this means:
- good project
- knowledge of the field
- knowledge of the tools (D)
- skills
- motivation

Obviously projects don't have to be perfect, this is *before* doing  
it, but just saying "I would like to work on X" is not going to cut it.

Fawzi

Ishan Thilina <ishanthilina gmail.com> writes:

I don't have experience with GSoC either, but I fear that the very
simple "I would like to work on X" proposal will have to be discarded.
As andrei said the students have to convince us that they can do the
project, and this means:
- good project
- knowledge of the field
- knowledge of the tools (D)
- skills
- motivation



I was wondering, can a project report be too lengthy? O.o

Andrei Alexandrescu <SeeWebsiteForEmail erdani.org> writes:

On 4/8/11 8:40 AM, dsimcha wrote:
 I've been looking over some of the GSoC proposals and I've noticed that
 most aren't very detailed. It seems most of the students have only a
 very rough idea of what they want to do and plan on filling in the
 details at the beginning of the project. I don't have experience with
 GSoC and I'm trying to understand whether this is a problem or is what's
 expected. How detailed are the proposals supposed to be?


I emailed all student proposing a project the following. After the email 
we got a lot of updates.


Andrei

============
Hello,


Apologies for the semi-automated email.

You should know that the deadline is only a few hours away - on the 8th 
April at 19:00 UTC. Be careful! That may mean a different time at your 
location. Refer to this link:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?month=4&day=8&year=2011&hour=19&min=0&sec=0&p1=0

You should expect an interview during the application review period. 
There is no need for special preparation. The interview consists of a 
few simple questions and a couple of coding exercises. You should have 
an Internet connection handy; the interview uses www.collabedit.com for 
writing code. Phone is fine, Skype is preferable.

Below are a few tips regarding last-minute polishing of your application.

* Make sure you send our way a detailed overview of the project you are 
embarking on. A good overview should clarify that you have a good 
understanding of the problem domain and that you are capable of carrying 
the task through.

* Please mention your fluency in the D programming language.

* Specify a plan for your project, with deadlines and deliverables. Make 
sure it is something that you can realistically commit to.

* Mention how much time you realistically expect to spend on the 
project. If you plan to take a vacation or otherwise be unavailable for 
some time, please specify.

* Needless to say, it is in your best interest to be honest.

* Mention in brief, if you can, alternative topics/projects you might be 
working on. We have had quite a few overlapping applications - there are 
five proposals for containers, for example. We wouldn't want to let you 
compete and then choose the best implementation, so we will allow only 
1-2 applications on containers. In case you are interested in 
containers, how comfortable are you with advanced containers - Bloom 
filters, tries, generalized suffix trees, skip lists...?

* At the same time, don't spread yourself too thin. A too broad 
application loses focus and enthusiasm for any one specific topic.

* Include anything that you believe is relevant to the project(s) of 
your choice: courses completed, grades, references, experience on 
similar projects. Feel free to paste your resume. Don't forget we start 
with knowing nothing about you.

* Above all, be honest about everything. This program is at Google's 
considerable expense, not to mention the time your mentors will invest. 
Above everything, the best outcome of this for you is establishing an 
excellent reputation with everybody involved.


Good luck!

Andrei

Fawzi Mohamed <fawzi gmx.ch> writes:

On 8-apr-11, at 17:15, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:

 On 4/8/11 8:40 AM, dsimcha wrote:
 I've been looking over some of the GSoC proposals and I've noticed  
 that
 most aren't very detailed. It seems most of the students have only a
 very rough idea of what they want to do and plan on filling in the
 details at the beginning of the project. I don't have experience with
 GSoC and I'm trying to understand whether this is a problem or is  
 what's
 expected. How detailed are the proposals supposed to be?


 I emailed all student proposing a project the following. After the  
 email we got a lot of updates.


 Andrei

 ============
 Hello,


 Apologies for the semi-automated email.

 You should know that the deadline is only a few hours away - on the  
 8th April at 19:00 UTC. Be careful! That may mean a different time  
 at your location. Refer to this link:

 http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?month=4&day=8&year=2011&hour=19&min=0&sec=0&p1=0

 You should expect an interview during the application review period.  
 There is no need for special preparation. The interview consists of  
 a few simple questions and a couple of coding exercises. You should  
 have an Internet connection handy; the interview uses www.collabedit.com 
  for writing code. Phone is fine, Skype is preferable.

 Below are a few tips regarding last-minute polishing of your  
 application.

 * Make sure you send our way a detailed overview of the project you  
 are embarking on. A good overview should clarify that you have a  
 good understanding of the problem domain and that you are capable of  
 carrying the task through.

 * Please mention your fluency in the D programming language.

 * Specify a plan for your project, with deadlines and deliverables.  
 Make sure it is something that you can realistically commit to.

 * Mention how much time you realistically expect to spend on the  
 project. If you plan to take a vacation or otherwise be unavailable  
 for some time, please specify.

 * Needless to say, it is in your best interest to be honest.

 * Mention in brief, if you can, alternative topics/projects you  
 might be working on. We have had quite a few overlapping  
 applications - there are five proposals for containers, for example.  
 We wouldn't want to let you compete and then choose the best  
 implementation, so we will allow only 1-2 applications on  
 containers. In case you are interested in containers, how  
 comfortable are you with advanced containers - Bloom filters, tries,  
 generalized suffix trees, skip lists...?

 * At the same time, don't spread yourself too thin. A too broad  
 application loses focus and enthusiasm for any one specific topic.

 * Include anything that you believe is relevant to the project(s) of  
 your choice: courses completed, grades, references, experience on  
 similar projects. Feel free to paste your resume. Don't forget we  
 start with knowing nothing about you.

 * Above all, be honest about everything. This program is at Google's  
 considerable expense, not to mention the time your mentors will  
 invest. Above everything, the best outcome of this for you is  
 establishing an excellent reputation with everybody involved.


 Good luck!

 Andrei


Excellent, I was thinking that an interview would be the best thing to  
evaluate the candidates.

Fawzi

Luca Boasso <luke.boasso gmail.com> writes:

Who is going to interview the students?
Will the mentor interested in the student be the interviewer or a
selected group of the community?

Luca

On 4/8/11, Fawzi Mohamed <fawzi gmx.ch> wrote:
 On 8-apr-11, at 17:15, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:

 On 4/8/11 8:40 AM, dsimcha wrote:
 I've been looking over some of the GSoC proposals and I've noticed
 that
 most aren't very detailed. It seems most of the students have only a
 very rough idea of what they want to do and plan on filling in the
 details at the beginning of the project. I don't have experience with
 GSoC and I'm trying to understand whether this is a problem or is
 what's
 expected. How detailed are the proposals supposed to be?


 I emailed all student proposing a project the following. After the
 email we got a lot of updates.


 Andrei

 ============
 Hello,


 Apologies for the semi-automated email.

 You should know that the deadline is only a few hours away - on the
 8th April at 19:00 UTC. Be careful! That may mean a different time
 at your location. Refer to this link:

 http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?month=4&day=8&year=2011&hour=19&min=0&sec=0&p1=0

 You should expect an interview during the application review period.
 There is no need for special preparation. The interview consists of
 a few simple questions and a couple of coding exercises. You should
 have an Internet connection handy; the interview uses www.collabedit.com
  for writing code. Phone is fine, Skype is preferable.

 Below are a few tips regarding last-minute polishing of your
 application.

 * Make sure you send our way a detailed overview of the project you
 are embarking on. A good overview should clarify that you have a
 good understanding of the problem domain and that you are capable of
 carrying the task through.

 * Please mention your fluency in the D programming language.

 * Specify a plan for your project, with deadlines and deliverables.
 Make sure it is something that you can realistically commit to.

 * Mention how much time you realistically expect to spend on the
 project. If you plan to take a vacation or otherwise be unavailable
 for some time, please specify.

 * Needless to say, it is in your best interest to be honest.

 * Mention in brief, if you can, alternative topics/projects you
 might be working on. We have had quite a few overlapping
 applications - there are five proposals for containers, for example.
 We wouldn't want to let you compete and then choose the best
 implementation, so we will allow only 1-2 applications on
 containers. In case you are interested in containers, how
 comfortable are you with advanced containers - Bloom filters, tries,
 generalized suffix trees, skip lists...?

 * At the same time, don't spread yourself too thin. A too broad
 application loses focus and enthusiasm for any one specific topic.

 * Include anything that you believe is relevant to the project(s) of
 your choice: courses completed, grades, references, experience on
 similar projects. Feel free to paste your resume. Don't forget we
 start with knowing nothing about you.

 * Above all, be honest about everything. This program is at Google's
 considerable expense, not to mention the time your mentors will
 invest. Above everything, the best outcome of this for you is
 establishing an excellent reputation with everybody involved.


 Good luck!

 Andrei


 Excellent, I was thinking that an interview would be the best thing to
 evaluate the candidates.

 Fawzi

Andrei Alexandrescu <SeeWebsiteForEmail erdani.org> writes:

On 4/8/11 11:35 AM, Luca Boasso wrote:
 Who is going to interview the students?
 Will the mentor interested in the student be the interviewer or a
 selected group of the community?


I plan to interview qualified candidates personally. An interested 
mentor could choose to hold the interview in addition or instead of me.

Andrei

dsimcha <dsimcha yahoo.com> writes:

On 4/8/2011 2:43 PM, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
 On 4/8/11 11:35 AM, Luca Boasso wrote:
 Who is going to interview the students?
 Will the mentor interested in the student be the interviewer or a
 selected group of the community?


 I plan to interview qualified candidates personally. An interested
 mentor could choose to hold the interview in addition or instead of me.

 Andrei


Looks like we got a ton of proposals at the last minute, so we'll 
probably need to be selective.  A few questions:

1.  Are you still seriously going to interview every candidate personally?

2.  What, if anything, is Google's role in deciding what proposals get 
accepted?

3.  Is there any point in the mentors reviewing the proposals before we 
know what makes the interview cut?

4.  Is each mentor supposed to review all of the proposals, or just the 
ones in his/her domain that he/she feels qualified to evaluate?  For 
example, I feel very comfortable reviewing a proposal about garbage 
collection or containers, but I would have little clue what I was doing 
if I reviewed an XML proposal.  I'd be able to tell a mediocre XML 
proposal from a terrible one, but not a great one from a mediocre one.

Andrei Alexandrescu <SeeWebsiteForEmail erdani.org> writes:

On 4/9/11 7:02 AM, Jens Mueller wrote:
 4.  Is each mentor supposed to review all of the proposals, or just
 the ones in his/her domain that he/she feels qualified to evaluate?
 For example, I feel very comfortable reviewing a proposal about
 garbage collection or containers, but I would have little clue what
 I was doing if I reviewed an XML proposal.  I'd be able to tell a
 mediocre XML proposal from a terrible one, but not a great one from
 a mediocre one.


 I'll guess you are not expected to review a proposal you're not
 interested in. It make no sense.


An experienced mentor can assess the quality of a proposal that's 
outside his direct interest.

Andrei

dsimcha <dsimcha yahoo.com> writes:

On 4/9/2011 9:49 AM, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
 On 4/9/11 7:02 AM, Jens Mueller wrote:
 4. Is each mentor supposed to review all of the proposals, or just
 the ones in his/her domain that he/she feels qualified to evaluate?
 For example, I feel very comfortable reviewing a proposal about
 garbage collection or containers, but I would have little clue what
 I was doing if I reviewed an XML proposal. I'd be able to tell a
 mediocre XML proposal from a terrible one, but not a great one from
 a mediocre one.


 I'll guess you are not expected to review a proposal you're not
 interested in. It make no sense.


 An experienced mentor can assess the quality of a proposal that's
 outside his direct interest.

 Andrei


Right.  Ironically I realized that when I actually tried.  I used XML as 
an example of something I know nothing about, but it's still painfully 
obvious whether a proposal is ridiculously vague or not.

Luca Boasso <luke.boasso gmail.com> writes:

Thank you for the information

Luca

On 4/8/11, Andrei Alexandrescu <SeeWebsiteForEmail erdani.org> wrote:
 On 4/8/11 11:35 AM, Luca Boasso wrote:
 Who is going to interview the students?
 Will the mentor interested in the student be the interviewer or a
 selected group of the community?


 I plan to interview qualified candidates personally. An interested
 mentor could choose to hold the interview in addition or instead of me.

 Andrei

Jens Mueller <jens.k.mueller gmx.de> writes:

dsimcha wrote:
 On 4/8/2011 2:43 PM, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
On 4/8/11 11:35 AM, Luca Boasso wrote:
Who is going to interview the students?
Will the mentor interested in the student be the interviewer or a
selected group of the community?


I plan to interview qualified candidates personally. An interested
mentor could choose to hold the interview in addition or instead of me.

Andrei


 Looks like we got a ton of proposals at the last minute, so we'll
 probably need to be selective.  A few questions:
 
 1.  Are you still seriously going to interview every candidate personally?
 
 2.  What, if anything, is Google's role in deciding what proposals
 get accepted?


Google will only determine the number of slots. It's up to the project
to allocate these to the students.

 3.  Is there any point in the mentors reviewing the proposals before
 we know what makes the interview cut?
 
 4.  Is each mentor supposed to review all of the proposals, or just
 the ones in his/her domain that he/she feels qualified to evaluate?
 For example, I feel very comfortable reviewing a proposal about
 garbage collection or containers, but I would have little clue what
 I was doing if I reviewed an XML proposal.  I'd be able to tell a
 mediocre XML proposal from a terrible one, but not a great one from
 a mediocre one.


I'll guess you are not expected to review a proposal you're not
interested in. It make no sense.

Jens