About me:
- Name: Nishant Rana
- Bio: Developer and community builder working around open source, developer communities, hackathons, and technical programs. I started out contributing to open source projects and gradually moved into project management, mentoring, and building open source programs through my own community, Elite Coders.
- Location: Yamunanagar, Haryana, India
- LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/nishantrana07
- Home community: Elite Coders
- Years of association with FOSS/digital commons: 2+ years
About my work:
- My FOSS/digital commons journey:
My involvement with FOSS started by participating in open source programs and contributing to projects myself. In 2025, I participated as an Open Source Developer in SWOC and contributed to multiple full-stack projects. I finished 11th among 2000+ developers. I also participated in Devfest.AI, where my team reached the top 20 and I secured a top 10 position in the no-code track.After contributing as a developer, I started taking responsibility for projects and other contributors.
I worked as a Project Manager in ACWOC, where I handled project management, contribution guidelines, contributor onboarding, and the overall contribution workflow. I finished 1st among the project managers.
I continued this work through OSCI and GSSOC. During GSSOC, I mentored 500+ students through individual and group sessions, organized onboarding sessions, reviewed contributions, and helped contributors with their projects.
Alongside participating in existing programs, I started building open source opportunities through Elite Coders. We have organized Elite Coders Winter of Code (ECWoC) and Elite Coders Summer of Code (ECSoC) , along with open source-focused hackathons, quizzes, competitions, and other community activities.
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How and when I came across the FOSS United community:
I came across FOSS United through the Indian FOSS ecosystem while participating in different open source programs and communities.
As I became more involved, I started paying more attention to the people and communities working to grow FOSS in India. My involvement has since moved beyond just participating in programs. I now spend a significant amount of my time creating and running programs where other students and developers can get their first experience with open source. -
Why I am running for the Governing Board:
I am running because I have experienced open source from different sides, first as a contributor, then as a project manager and mentor, and now as someone running a developer community that organizes open source programs.
One thing I have noticed repeatedly is that many students are interested in contributing to FOSS but do not know where to begin. Others make their first contribution but do not have a clear reason or opportunity to continue.
I want to use my experience in running communities and open source programs to contribute to this problem at a broader level. I also want to learn from people already working within the FOSS United community and contribute wherever my experience can be useful. -
Why would I be a good fit (What prior long-term volunteering experience do you have):
My FOSS experience has not been limited to participating in programs. I have managed projects, onboarded contributors, reviewed contributions, mentored students, and organized open source programs.
As a project manager, I was responsible for setting contribution guidelines, onboarding contributors, maintaining project workflows, and keeping contributions on track. I later mentored 500+ students through GSSOC and conducted onboarding, code reviews, and feedback sessions.
Through Elite Coders, I have also had the opportunity to take what I learned from these programs and build similar opportunities for a larger developer community. ECWoC and ECSoC are part of that effort.I think this combination of being a contributor, mentor, project manager, and community organizer gives me a practical understanding of what works for contributors at different stages.
- Things I would like to focus on as a GB member:
I would like to focus on making the first contribution easier for students and developers who have never worked on an open source project before.
Some areas I would particularly like to work on are:
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Better onboarding for first-time contributors.
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More mentorship and contributor support during open source programs.
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Helping students move from short-term programs to continued contributions.
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Supporting college and local developer communities that want to start FOSS initiatives.
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Helping existing FOSS projects reach more contributors.
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Creating more opportunities for people outside the major technology hubs to participate.
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Sharing practical resources around Git, GitHub, contribution workflows, project selection, and getting started with FOSS.
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Optional: Anything else you’d like to share with the community:
I started my FOSS journey by looking for opportunities to contribute myself. A few programs later, I found myself managing projects, mentoring contributors, and eventually creating those opportunities for other people.That progression is probably the biggest reason I am interested in the Governing Board.
I have seen what makes someone submit their first pull request, what makes them stay involved, and also where people tend to drop off.I don’t see this nomination as a claim that I have all the answers. I want to bring my experience from working directly with contributors and running developer communities, while learning from the people already building the FOSS ecosystem in India.
If elected, I would like to help make it easier for someone discovering FOSS today to become a contributor tomorrow, and eventually become someone who contributes back to the community themselves.