I am a prospective student contributor interested in preparing early for Google Summer of Code 2026 with INCF. I would like guidance on how to get started with INCF-affiliated open-source projects, recommended repositories for beginners, and the official vs. community channels (mailing lists, forums, GitHub, Slack/Discourse, etc.) that students should follow for updates, mentorship, and early engagement if INCF participates in GSoC 2026.
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Iām relatively new to GSoC myself, but I served as a mentor for a GSoC 2025 project. Other mentors will likely have additional insights, but I wanted to share a few observations to help start the discussion. I also strongly recommend reviewing the official guidance for prospective contributors, which sets clear expectations around proposals and participation.
GSoC is highly competitive. In 2025, fewer than 9% of applicants were ultimately accepted, so standing out requires more than a well-written proposal. One common issue I noticed was proposals that appeared to rely heavily on AI-generated content without sufficient evidence of the contributorās own understanding, skills, or initiative. In some cases, proposals even referenced GitHub issues that did not exist, which immediately undermined their credibility.
From a mentorās perspective, the strongest signals often come from tangible engagement with open-source projects. Prior contributions to public GitHub repositories including meaningful issues, commits, code reviews, or pull requests make it much easier to assess both technical ability and how someone collaborates in real-world settings. Even small but well-documented contributions can be more persuasive than an ambitious proposal with no supporting track record.
Ultimately, competitive GSoC contributors tend to hit a āsweet spotā: they show genuine interest in the project and community, demonstrate relevant skills and the ability to work constructively with others, and clearly have room to grow. Proposals that reflect this balance are far more likely to resonate with mentors.
Likewise, potential contributors should be selective about which organizations and mentors they apply to work with. In 2025, the number of interested INCF mentors exceeded the number of available contributor slots. While I donāt have detailed insight into Googleās final selection process, my impression is that successful projects tend to reflect a strong alignment among three factors: experienced and committed mentors, a capable and motivated contributor, and a compelling overlap between the contributorās interests and the mentorsā project goals. Choose a team that matches your skills, learning objectives, and working style.
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Thank you for taking the time to share this. It was genuinely helpful, especially the emphasis on real, visible contributions over polished proposals.
Iāll be honest, Iām still trying to find my footing. Iām actively contributing to open source more broadly to build experience and a public track record, but Iāve found it a bit unclear where that effort fits best within the INCF ecosystem specifically. From the outside, itās not always obvious which repositories or workflows are currently active or welcoming to someone at an early stage.
Would it make sense for a prospective contributor to focus first on sustained contributions to adjacent scientific Python or research tooling projects, and then try to align that experience with an INCF-backed project if and when GSoC participation becomes clearer? Alternatively, are there particular community channels, working groups, or discussions (including this community channel) where itās useful to follow along, learn, and gradually identify smaller ways to contribute?
Iām genuinely interested in approaching this thoughtfully; learning the right way, contributing consistently, and collaborating well. Plus Iād really appreciate any guidance on how best to navigate this early stage.
Thank you so much!!
Hello everyone,
Iām Hemant Machiwar, a B.Tech student at NIT Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India, and Iām very interested in contributing to INCF projects as part of my preparation for GSoC 2026.
Iāve gone through the INCF ideas list and contribution guidelines, and Iāve also created an account on Neurostars. I would now like to start contributing through small, beginner-friendly issues to better understand the relevant codebases and workflows.
I have experience with JavaScript (MERN/Next.js) and a working knowledge of Python, C++, and Java, and Iām comfortable setting up projects locally and contributing via GitHub.
I would really appreciate guidance on:
- Which repositories or projects would be best suited for a beginner contributor
- Where I should start to understand the codebase effectively
- Any recommended issues or tasks that would be valuable to work on initially
Iām keen to contribute consistently and learn while doing so. Thank you for your time and for maintaining such impactful open-source projects.
Best regards,
Hemant Machiwar
The INCF projects and mentors for GSoC 2026 are not yet known. A good place to start may be to look at the projects and mentoring teams from the INCF GSoC 2025. You may want to look at active projects from the mentors to see if any match your interests and skills. Looks for open issues where you can contribute. It might also be worth identifying neuroscientists near you and working with them to have concrete examples of problems they need solving and the tools they use.
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Thank you sir for the information,
It would be nice to know if you can tell is there any thing that the same students getting in for next year too who were contributor in 2025 If same mentors and similar projects are announced. Do we need to show working model of the project (40-60)% while submitting proposals.
Thanks @neurolabusc for the detailed insights! The emphasis on ātangible engagementā over ambitious proposals is a great reality check.
@Ayush_kumar_rai regarding the working model: From what Iāve gathered digging into the knowledge-space-agent, trying to build 60% of a project upfront might be overkill (and risky if the roadmap changes).
Iāve been taking the tangible contribution approach by focusing on just one infrastructure bottleneck: I recently submitted PR #6 to implement Offline Hybrid Search, simply because the cloud dependency was blocking local testing. I found that solving one specific, high-value problem was a much better way to understand the codebase than trying to build a massive prototype from scratch.
Hope that helps!
Yes, I understand that. Proper roadmap and idea what you will implement in the project and active contri matters most I think. @Ravi_Ranjan Thank you for your ansā¦ and what repo you are working on until they announce 2026 projects.
Hello , I am Siddhant Pastapure currently studying B-Tech in Biomedical Engineering from National Institute of Technology Raipur . Currently I am woking on machine learning , deep learning and applications of computer vision. As a biomedical student and ml enthusiast I wanted to work on projects like this āStudying Peripheral Physiological Modulation of Brain Activity (INCF #27)ā ,āGestureCap: Using markerless motion capture and gesture recognition for music generationā ,āDeveloping standardised biophysically detailed neuronal circuit models using NeuroMLā and ā[Project 20] Build an AI Agent for KnowledgeSpace using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)ā which were the last year Gsoc projects. So is there any work related to this I am ready to contribute .
My name is Divakar Daya . I am a prospective student contributor interested in preparing early for Google Summer of Code 2026 with INCF. I would like guidance on how to get started with INCF-affiliated open-source projects , recommended repositories for beginners, and the official vs. community channels (mailing lists, forums, GitHub, Slack/Discourse, etc.) that students should follow for updates, mentorship, and early engagement if INCF participates in GSoC 2026