Become a Mentor#
This section outlines the benefits of becoming a mentor as well as the expectations and responsibilities you will have while mentoring with Outreachy.
Where possible, we aim to provide training for our mentors via our partnership with Open Life Science.
Why you should become a mentor#
If you think back on positive experiences of joining open source projects, you will probably find that the reason that experience was positive is because someone else in the community took the time to onboard you. This was a form of mentorship. Many of those who mentor feel an altruistic responsibility to help people who are struggling along similar paths to those that the mentor once did, especially if they received mentorship through that experience. Mentoring is also a way that we can scale positive change in the world. For instance, if we care about more people working openly, then those people need help in learning how to do that, and a mentor can be the person who provides that help.
As well as altruism, there are also personal, professional development reasons to pursue mentoring. Being a mentor is one way to develop and demonstrate the people skills often required in management roles. Mentoring through Outreachy specifically also provides some line management experience, since the mentors design the projects for the interns and are responsible for them progressing through and completing the work.
Expectations of mentors#
See also
Outreachy document the full responsibilities and expectations of participating mentors, including time commitments, on their website here and here
The main expectations of mentors are:
To scope an appropriate project for an intern to complete over 13 weeks
To scope appropriate “microtasks” for applicants to complete during the contribution period
Engage with applicants and answer questions/offer guidance during the contribution period
Mentor the intern through your proposed project for the 13 week internship duration
Provide feedback to Outreachy regarding the intern’s performance
Pair mentoring#
We strongly advocate for pair-mentoring a project where possible. This can reduce the load on mentors, provide a new mentor with support and guidance, and cover extenuating circumstances if one mentor needs to step back for whatever reason.
How to sign up to mentor#
To register as a mentor, follow Outreachy’s mentor sign-up process. You will need to submit a project proposal to the Outreachy platform to register and be approved as a mentor by the Community Coordinator.
See also
See the List of Project Proposals for suggested projects looking for a mentor, or propose your own!
Past Outreachy Mentors#
December, 2022#
December, 2018#
Min Ragan-Kelley
Yuvi Panda
