FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani 2026–27
Hello everyone,
I’m Ayush Lahiri, and I’m excited to lead the FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani for the tenure of 2026–27.
The FOSS Club has always been about more than just coding – it’s about building, sharing, collaborating, and growing together. This year, our goal is to make it an even more vibrant community where students can learn by doing, explore open-source technologies, contribute to real-world projects, and experiment fearlessly.
Plans for This Tenure
Here’s what we’re looking forward to:
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Continuing initiatives like FOSS Alternative of the Week to discover and promote open-source alternatives.
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Hands-on workshops on Linux, Git/GitHub, and making your first open-source contribution.
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Regular meetups and collaborative events with other open source clubs.
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Linux Fest and open-source hackathons.
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FOSS Meme Night – celebrating open-source culture with a little fun.
Our Plans for the Semester
With freshers settling into college life and academic schedules keeping everyone busy, we aim to build a strong foundation for the club while making open source accessible to everyone.
October – Building the Community
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Build a strong, enthusiastic core team and welcome new members.
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Keep our social media active through initiatives like FOSS Alternative of the Week.
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Organize Core Team Introduction & Information Session.
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Encourage students to explore different domains, find their interests, and start contributing.
November – Learning by Doing
Git Workshop + Linux Installation Party
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Day 1: An introduction to Ubuntu/Linux, Git and GitHub, digital privacy, efficiency, and the philosophy behind free and open-source software.
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Day 2: Hands-on Linux and Ubuntu sessions, Git practice, and guided installation setups using dual boot or VirtualBox.
Offline Pitching for Hackathon
- Conduct the offline pitching and presentation for hackathon hosted online on various open source pathways and fields.
December – Wrap Up
- Keep Socials active through various initiatives
- Conduct a Online Speaker Session for A.I/M.L or Blockchain
Whether you’re passionate about coding, AI/ML, design, documentation, Linux, or simply curious about open source, there’s a place for you in the FOSS Club. You don’t need to be an expert to get started — just bring your curiosity and willingness to learn.
Let’s make this tenure a year of learning, building, contributing, and growing together.
Build. Contribute. Collaborate.
The future of tech is open – let’s shape it together.
Ayush Lahiri
Lead, FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani
Hello everyone,
The FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani is organizing an introductory session to give our freshers a glimpse into some of the most exciting domains in technology: AI/ML, Web Development, Linux, and Cybersecurity through a CTF event.
The aim is to introduce students to these domains, explain their real-world applications, and help them discover the areas they would like to explore further through hands-on learning, projects, and open-source contributions.
During the session, we will cover:
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AI/ML: An introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, their real-world applications, and how students can get started.
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Web Development: Exploring how websites and web applications are built, from frontend interfaces to backend systems.
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Cybersecurity/Distributed Systems: Understanding the fundamentals of distributed systems and network safety.
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Linux: Discovering the Linux ecosystem, command-line tools, and why Linux is essential for developers and open-source enthusiasts.
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CTF (Capture The Flag): A fun, hands-on cybersecurity challenge where participants can test their problem-solving skills and explore security concepts through interactive tasks.
The session is designed for beginners, so no prior experience in these domains is required. Whether you’re curious about AI, interested in building applications, fascinated by distributed systems, or eager to explore Linux and cybersecurity, there’s something for everyone.
Event Date: 27/10/26 5:00PM-7:00PM
Venue: IIIT Kalyani
Come explore, ask questions, and discover your next area of interest with the FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani.
Build. Contribute. Collaborate.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS AND REFLECTION: FOSS Club IIITK’s Intro to FOSS 2026–27
The FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani successfully hosted its introductory session for the academic year 2026–27, welcoming freshers to explore some of the most exciting domains in technology and discover the opportunities offered by open-source learning, collaboration, and community building.
The session aimed to introduce first-year students to FOSS Culture and different areas of technology, helping them understand their fundamentals, real-world applications, and the various paths they could explore through hands-on learning, projects, and open-source contributions.
The session covered several key domains:
Introduction to FOSS – Explained the philosphy of FOSS and how FOSS United is committed to support the same.
Introduction to AI/ML – Exploring the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, their real-world applications, and how students can begin experimenting with intelligent systems and building their own projects.
Introduction to Web Development – Introducing the basics of web technologies, how websites and web applications work, and the possibilities of building and contributing to open-source web projects.
Cybersecurity & Network Safety – Discussing the importance of cybersecurity, common digital threats, safe online practices, and the fundamentals of protecting systems, networks, and personal information.
Introduction to Linux – Familiarizing students with Linux, its role in the open-source ecosystem, basic command-line operations, and why Linux is an essential tool for developers and technology enthusiasts.
Capture The Flag (CTF) Challenge – Adding a hands-on element to the session through an interactive CTF challenge, allowing participants to test their problem-solving skills, explore cybersecurity concepts, and experience the excitement of solving technical challenges.
The session was designed to go beyond simply introducing these domains. It encouraged students to step out of their comfort zones, experiment with unfamiliar technologies, and discover the areas they would like to pursue further.
Through this initiative, the FOSS Club reaffirmed its commitment to fostering a campus culture centered around open-source software, practical learning, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
The session concluded with an engaging atmosphere, encouraging freshers to take their first steps into the world of technology and become part of a community where they can learn, build, contribute, and grow together.
Event Reflection
Number of attendees: 70-80
Feedback: Positive feedback from most participants with some expression of excitement regarding the C.T.F challenge
Key takeaway: The session provided freshers with an introduction to AI/ML, Web Development, Cybersecurity, and Linux, while the CTF challenge offered a glimpse into hands-on technical problem-solving. It marked an encouraging step toward helping students discover their interests and begin their journey into technology and open source.
Here are some photos during the event:
FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani – Event Report
1. What is your name?
Ayush Lahiri
2. What’s your Club’s name?
FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani
3. Event name
Intro to FOSS – Freshers’ Introductory Session 2026–27
4. Event type — Knowledge session or hands-on
Both — primarily a knowledge session, with a hands-on Capture The Flag (CTF) challenge.
5. Explain the event briefly
FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani organised an introductory session for first-year students for the academic year 2026–27. The event aimed to introduce freshers to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), its philosophy, and the opportunities it offers for learning, collaboration, and community building.
The session covered five key areas: FOSS, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Web Development, Cybersecurity, and Linux. Participants learned about the fundamentals of these domains, their real-world applications, and possible learning paths for further exploration.
A hands-on Capture The Flag (CTF) challenge introduced participants to technical problem-solving and cybersecurity concepts. Overall, the event encouraged freshers to explore unfamiliar technologies, discover their interests, and begin their journey into open source.
6. Speaker Details (if any). Tell us their names, roles, company and what they spoke about.
The session was conducted by members of FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani. The event covered FOSS philosophy, AI/ML fundamentals, Web Development, Cybersecurity and Network Safety, Linux, and a CTF challenge.
7. Was the speaker provided to you by FOSS United?
No external speaker was mentioned in the event post. The session was organised by FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani.
8. Mode of the event — In-person, Digital, Hybrid
In-person
9. If Digital or Hybrid, share the livestream/recording link
Not applicable since the event was entirely in person.
10. Please upload the event photos to Ente and share the link below
11. How many people attended your event?
Approximately 70–80 attendees.
12. What went well at the meetup? Tell us about your team’s execution and attendee response
The session successfully introduced freshers to FOSS culture and several major technology domains in an accessible and engaging manner. Covering AI/ML, Web Development, Cybersecurity, and Linux helped participants understand the range of opportunities available to them.
The CTF challenge added an interactive, practical element to the event and received particularly encouraging responses, with several participants expressing excitement about the challenge. Overall, feedback was positive, and the session helped create enthusiasm for exploring technology, practical learning, and open-source contributions.
13. What could be improved? Tell us about your team’s execution and attendee response
Future sessions could include more hands-on activities across the different domains, allowing participants to experiment with AI/ML, Linux commands, and open-source tools alongside the CTF challenge.
We could also allocate more time for individual exploration, questions, and guided next steps so that freshers leave with a clearer understanding of how to begin learning and contributing to their chosen domains. Collecting structured feedback would help us identify specific areas for improvement.
14. What open source tools did you use at your event?
The session introduced participants to the FOSS ecosystem and Linux, alongside cybersecurity concepts and a CTF challenge. Tools like git, github and ubuntu were used for demonstration purpose and ctf challenge source code hosting.
15. Were there any challenges in using those tools? Tell us about each of them
No challenges as such.
16. Was one of those tools a crowd favorite?
There wasn’t much mention about tools being a crowd favorite but the CTF challenge was a highlight of the session and generated particular excitement among participants.
17. Link us to the contributions that your community members made at the event, if any? (Individual or as a team)
FOSS-IIITK/FOSS-CTF-INFO-SESS-26
18. Did you find anybody at the event a good fit to be a mentor or speaker at future events run by your FOSS Clubs or FOSS United? Help us understand how
As it was an introductory event much couldn’t be assessed about individual technical depth but a few of the core team members namely (Adrisha Biswas, Debajit Pal, Sayan Das) spoke with great conviction and communicated very well.
19. Did you spend any money on the event? Give us a detailed breakdown. This helps us understand how to better support the clubs financially
The event post does not provide any expenditure details.
Total expenditure: 4,700 INR
Breakdown:
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Venue and infrastructure: Nil
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Food and refreshments: 4,500 INR
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Event materials or equipment: 200 INR
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Other expenses: Nil
20. Anything else you would want to note down for later?
This introductory session marked an encouraging start to FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani’s activities for the academic year 2026–27. With approximately 70–80 attendees and positive participant feedback, the event helped introduce freshers to FOSS culture and key technology domains.
The enthusiasm around the CTF challenge highlighted the value of combining introductory knowledge sessions with practical activities. Going forward, the club aims to build on this momentum through hands-on workshops, open-source projects, collaborative learning, and opportunities for students to make contributions to the FOSS ecosystem.
Git, GitHub & Linux: A Two-Day Hands-on Workshop
Hello everyone,
The FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani is organizing a two-day interactive workshop covering three essential tools in the world of software development and open source: Git, GitHub, and Linux.
Whether you’re just getting started or already have some experience, this workshop is designed for both beginners and intermediate-level learners. Through practical demonstrations, hands-on exercises, and interactive follow-along challenges, participants will get to learn, experiment, and apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios.
The workshop will be divided into two days:
Day 1: Git & GitHub
Explore version control and collaborative software development, from the fundamentals to more advanced workflows.
During the session, we will cover:
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Git Fundamentals: Understanding version control, repositories, commits, and tracking changes.
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Git Workflows: Working with branches, merging, rebasing, and resolving merge conflicts.
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GitHub: Exploring repositories, remote connections, issues, pull requests, and collaboration.
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Collaborative Development: Understanding forks, branching strategies, code reviews, and team workflows.
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Open-Source Contributions: Learning how to find projects, contribute to repositories, and make your first meaningful pull request.
Interactive Challenges: Participants will follow along with practical Git and GitHub tasks, work through branching and merge-conflict scenarios, and experience a collaborative contribution workflow.
Day 2: Introduction to Linux
Dive into the Linux ecosystem and explore the command-line tools and workflows that power modern development environments.
During the session, we will cover:
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Linux Fundamentals: Understanding Linux, its distributions, ecosystem, and role in modern computing.
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Command-Line Proficiency: Navigating the terminal, managing files, and working with essential Linux commands.
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File Systems & Permissions: Exploring directory structures, ownership, permissions, and access control.
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Package Management: Installing, updating, and managing software packages.
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Shell & Scripting: Exploring shell environments, command chaining, pipes, redirection, and basic shell scripting.
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Beyond the Basics: Getting familiar with processes, system utilities, and useful Linux workflows.
Interactive Challenges: Participants will follow along with terminal-based exercises, solve practical command-line challenges, and explore Linux through hands-on tasks.
What to Expect
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Sessions suitable for both beginners and intermediate learners.
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Live demonstrations with step-by-step follow-along activities.
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Interactive challenges to put concepts into practice.
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Real-world workflows and practical problem-solving.
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Opportunities to explore open-source tools and developer communities.
You don’t need to be an expert or have extensive prior experience to participate. Beginners can build a strong foundation, while those already familiar with the basics can explore more advanced workflows and sharpen their practical skills.
Event Details:
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Day 1: 5 November 2026 — Git & GitHub
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Day 2: 6 November 2026 — Linux
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Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Day 1); 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Day 2)
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Venue: AA404, IIIT Kalyani
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Organized by: FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani
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In Collaboration with: GDG On Campus IIIT Kalyani
Bring your laptops, curiosity, and willingness to experiment!
Come learn by doing, challenge yourself, collaborate with others, and take another step towards becoming a better developer and open-source contributor.
Build. Contribute. Collaborate.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS AND REFLECTION: FOSS Club IIITK’s Git, GitHub & Linux Two-Day Hands-on Workshop
The FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani successfully organized a two-day hands-on workshop on Git, GitHub, and Linux on 5–6 November 2026, providing students with an opportunity to explore some of the essential tools and technologies used in modern software development and open-source collaboration.
The workshop was designed for both beginners and intermediate-level learners, focusing on building practical skills through live demonstrations, guided exercises, and interactive follow-along challenges. Its objective was to help participants understand version control, collaborative development workflows, and the Linux ecosystem while encouraging them to experiment with these tools in real-world scenarios.
The workshop was conducted over two days:
Day 1: Introduction to Git & GitHub (5 November 2026) – Introducing participants to version control and its importance in software development. The session explored Git fundamentals, including repositories, commits, and tracking changes, followed by practical demonstrations of branching, merging, rebasing, and resolving merge conflicts.
GitHub & Collaborative Development – Familiarizing participants with remote repositories, issues, pull requests, forks, and collaborative development workflows. The session also introduced the process of contributing to open-source projects, helping participants understand how developers collaborate, review code, and contribute to projects through meaningful pull requests.
Interactive Git Challenges – Participants followed along with practical Git and GitHub exercises, exploring version-control workflows and working through collaborative development scenarios to reinforce the concepts discussed during the session.
Day 2: Introduction to Linux (6 November 2026) – Introducing participants to the Linux ecosystem, its distributions, and its significance in modern computing and software development. The session focused on understanding the Linux environment and becoming comfortable with the command line.
Linux Command-Line Fundamentals – Exploring essential terminal commands for navigating directories, creating and managing files, and performing everyday filesystem operations. Participants were introduced to commands such as pwd, cd, mkdir, cp, mv, cat,grep and linux file system along with practical demonstrations of their applications.
Hands-on Terminal Exercises – Participants followed along with command-line demonstrations and attempted practical challenges to apply the commands they had learned. The session encouraged experimentation with the Linux terminal and helped participants become more familiar with working in a command-line environment.
The workshop was designed to go beyond theoretical explanations by emphasizing practical learning and active participation. Through live demonstrations and follow-along exercises, participants could experiment with the tools, understand their applications, and gain exposure to workflows commonly used by developers and open-source contributors.
The two-day initiative also provided an opportunity for students to explore the importance of open-source tools and collaborative development. By introducing Git, GitHub, and Linux together, the workshop highlighted how these technologies form an important part of the modern developer ecosystem.
FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani, in collaboration with GDG On Campus IIIT Kalyani, reaffirmed its commitment to promoting open-source technologies, practical technical learning.
workshop concluded with participants having explored essential development tools through hands-on activities, encouraging them to continue experimenting, building projects, and taking their first steps towards contributing to open source.
Event Reflection
Number of attendees: Day 1: 80+ Day2: 65-70
Feedback: Overwhemingly positive feedback among participants for day 2 guided session for linux and challenge track.
Key takeaway: The two-day workshop introduced participants to Git and GitHub for version control and collaborative software development, followed by practical exposure to Linux and its command-line environment. The hands-on exercises and interactive challenges helped bridge the gap between theoretical understanding and practical application, encouraging students to explore open-source tools and incorporate them into their development workflows.
Here are the links to both the cheatsheets:
Git/Github:
GIT CHEAT SHEET GITSETGO.pdf (496.1 KB)
Linux: Shell Yeah — Learn the command line
Event Photographs
Here are some photos from the workshop:
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FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani – Event Report
1. What is your name?
Ayush Lahiri
2. What’s your Club’s name?
FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani
3. Event name
Git, GitHub & Linux: A Two-Day Hands-on Workshop
4. Event type — Knowledge session or hands-on
Both(Primarily Hands-on) – a combination of knowledge sessions, practical demonstrations, and hands-on follow-along challenges covering Git, GitHub, and Linux.
5. Explain the event briefly
FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani, in collaboration with GDG On Campus IIIT Kalyani, organised a two-day hands-on workshop on 5–6 November 2026, introducing students to three essential tools in modern software development and open-source collaboration: Git, GitHub, and Linux.
The workshop was designed for both beginners and intermediate-level learners, focusing on practical demonstrations and interactive exercises to help participants understand and apply these technologies.
The first day focused on Git and GitHub, covering version control fundamentals, repositories, commits, branching, merging, rebasing, merge conflicts, remote repositories, and collaborative development workflows. Participants were also introduced to open-source contribution workflows, including forks, pull requests, and code collaboration.
The second day introduced participants to Linux and its command-line environment. The session covered Linux fundamentals, terminal navigation, file and directory management, and essential commands such as pwd, cd, mkdir, touch, cp, mv, cat, and grep. Participants also explored Vim and different ways of working with Linux environments.
The workshop emphasised learning by doing, allowing participants to follow demonstrations, experiment with commands, and solve practical challenges.
6. Speaker Details (if any). Tell us their names, roles, company and what they spoke about.
Speaker for Day 1: Anuj Kaushal, A senior from our college.
Speaker for Day 2: None, covered by leads of FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani and GDG On Campus IIIT Kalyani
7. Was the speaker provided to you by FOSS United?
No
8. Mode of the event — In-person, Digital, Hybrid
In-person.
9. If Digital or Hybrid, share the livestream/recording link
Not applicable since the workshop was conducted entirely in person.
10. Please upload the event photos to Ente and share the link below
11. How many people attended your event?
Day 1: 80+ Day 2: 65-70
12. What went well at the meetup? Tell us about your team’s execution and attendee response
The two-day workshop provided participants with practical exposure to essential development tools through structured demonstrations and follow-along activities.
The Git and GitHub session introduced participants to version control and collaborative development workflows, helping them understand how developers manage projects and work together on shared repositories.
The Linux session provided participants with an opportunity to become familiar with the command-line environment and perform common filesystem operations using essential terminal commands. The demonstrations involving Vim and commands such as grep and cat also provided practical examples of how Linux tools can be used in everyday development workflows.
The hands-on approach helped bridge the gap between theoretical explanations and practical application. Having sessions suitable for both beginners and intermediate learners also encouraged participants with different levels of prior experience to explore the tools.
13. What could be improved? Tell us about your team’s execution and attendee response
Future workshops could allocate more time to advanced Git workflows, collaborative contribution simulations, and practical Linux exercises.
Additional individual and team-based challenges could help participants apply concepts independently rather than relying primarily on guided demonstrations.
We could also introduce a small end-to-end project involving Git, GitHub, and Linux, allowing participants to experience how these tools work together in a typical development workflow.
Collecting structured feedback from participants would further help identify areas where the sessions could be improved.
14. What open source tools did you use at your event?
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Git: For demonstrating version control, tracking changes, branching, and collaborative development workflows.
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GitHub: For exploring remote repositories, issues, pull requests, and open-source collaboration.
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Linux / Ubuntu: For introducing participants to the Linux ecosystem and command-line environment.
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Vim: For demonstrating terminal-based text editing.
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GNU/Linux command-line utilities: Commands such as
grep,cat,mkdir,cp, andmvwere used during practical demonstrations.
15. Were there any challenges in using those tools? Tell us about each of them
No major challenges were reported during the sessions.
16. Was one of those tools a crowd favorite?
Git and GitHub offered participants an introduction to collaborative software development and open-source contribution workflows, while the Linux terminal provided a more direct, hands-on experience with command-line tools.
17. Link us to the contributions that your community members made at the event, if any? (Individual or as a team)
18. Did you find anybody at the event a good fit to be a mentor or speaker at future events run by your FOSS Clubs or FOSS United? Help us understand how
Anuj Kaushal in particular offered very interesting talk on git and github.
19. Did you spend any money on the event? Give us a detailed breakdown. This helps us understand how to better support the clubs financially
Total expenditure: 7,480 INR
Breakdown:
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Venue and infrastructure: NIL.
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Food and refreshments: Day 1: 4140 INR DAY 2: 3220
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Event materials or equipment: Stickers: 120 INR
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Other expenses: NIL.
20. Anything else you would want to note down for later?
This two-day workshop was an initiative by FOSS Club IIIT Kalyani to promote practical learning and familiarity with essential open-source development tools.
The collaboration with GDG On Campus IIIT Kalyani provided an opportunity to introduce students to Git, GitHub, and Linux through structured sessions and hands-on demonstrations.
The workshop reinforced the importance of practical learning in technical education and highlighted how familiarity with open-source tools can help students become more effective developers and contributors.
Going forward, the club aims to continue organising hands-on workshops, collaborative learning sessions, and activities that encourage students to explore open-source technologies, build projects, and contribute to the wider FOSS community.
Cheatsheet:
GIT CHEAT SHEET GITSETGO.pdf (496.1 KB)