Few days ago I was prospecting collaborators to my open source project when Björn Jensen - JUG leader of Hamburg - called my attention to the Google Summer of Code 2009 . After a brief reading of the program rules, my teacher vein started to pulse - yes, that's exactly what I was looking for.

How it works? I strongly suggest you to visit the program web page and check the official information, but in essence it works like that: Organizations publish a list of ideas and pending features of their open source projects. The companies also nominate mentors to follow the students work. Students select one of those ideas to work on during the summer 2009 After the completion of the work, the mentor checks the quality of the work and - if the code is approved - the student receives some money. The most important feature is the promotion of a learning environment based on real world requirements, a fantastic and natural idea for everyone committed with the education of the new generation of computing professionals.

java.net participation?

Reading the program documentation and asking the program organizers, I've soon realized the role of open source organization as an important criterion for the selection of the participating organizations. It is hard for Google to check the quality of the mentoring provided by individuals or projects without much visibility. The natural selection of the applying organizations points to the big players of the open source community.

Discussing that issue with other JUG leaders, we quickly target java.net as our best representative organization. The idea is simple:

Java.net projects would be nominated by SUN/java.net to participate in the Google Summer of Code.

It is just an open suggestion but the first feedback from SUN was quite positive. Important disclaimer: I do not represent SUN, it is just a personal wish to see that idea implemented in the next few years.

Congratulations Google !

What else can I say, I am following the mailing list of the program since last week and I have only claps for the Google initiative. Other positive point is the professionalism demonstrated by the managers of the program and the excitement around the open possibilities - a lot of young students eager for a chance, and a set of companies looking for the clever minds ...

Don't miss that :)