Spring is upon us in Belgium and that means Summer is around the corner. open Summer of code that is.

open Summer of code?

#oSoc14 is a three week project where we ask students to apply for the best studentjob of the year. We invite the best and brightest developers, designers, user experience heroes and project managers to join us in this adventure. On what will they be working on you say? In three weeks they will tackle 6 open tool projects, provided by a team of partners and sponsors who believe in the power of open tools and young potential students.

Open Summer of Code 2014 from OKFN Belgium on Vimeo.

This year we already have three big partners on board
Leiedal, the intercommunal organisation for the region of Kortrijk that together with the Opening Up Project supports open data-use and publication for 13 municipalities in West Flanders. Second partner is The City of Ghent and Digipolis who are our patrons during #oSoc14, giving the Code 9000 team the opportunity to work on a open tool project that end-users in the city can use. Last but not least is Mobile Vikings who are,together with the CityLife project bringing interesting information on a city level with cool discounts and easy access to relevant information. So three big partners so far who will provide the students with a project and a place to work.

All of them are providing a space to work? All of them!
Yes during #oSoc14 we’re going to Kortrijk, Ghent and Antwerp. Locations and dates need to be confirmed, but expect to work at different inspirational locations with people who know what they’re doing. Don’t worry, we’re not telecommuting, we’re just changing our location so the students can indulge themselves in different design, tech and start-up environments.

Sounds amazing! Can I join?
You sure can. We’re inviting 20 to 25 final year students to be part of this project, so starting from today you can apply for this student job. Just send and email to pieterjan @ okfn.be and baffle us with your application. Some basic info we’d like to see:

• Who are you and where are you from?
• What are you studying, where and in what year?
• Which role would suit you (backend developer, frontend developer, designer, UX, project manager)
• What are your specific skills so far in relation to this chosen role?
• If you have a portfolio with previous work, that’s always a plus.

Tell me again why I should join?
Here’s a shortlist:

• You get paid to work on what excites you
• You have a first big project to put on your resume before applying for a job
• You get to work with +20 other motivated students to work on an open tool project
• You’ll be able to work in different inspiring environments
• You’ll have professional lead project managers with a lot of experience helping you along
• There will be talks, coaches, and inspiration sessions making this an excellent learning experience