FOSS Clubs - 2024 Roadmap

Students Program FOSS Clubs
14

Minutes of the Meeting FOSS Clubs Community Call

Date: 2.12.23

Attendees:

Agenda:

  1. Introduction to Community Calls
  2. Updates from Club Leads
  3. Addressing Challenges and Solutions
  4. Next Steps and Future Events

1. Introduction to Community Calls: Community calls are recurring monthly meetings where all FOSS club leads gather to share updates, discuss challenges, and connect with the FOSS United team. The purpose is to foster collaboration and provide a platform for exchanging ideas.

Shared Documents:

2. Updates from Club Leads:

Advaith: MITS FOSS Club

  • The club activities were started in November.
  • Event 1: “Intro to Linux” had good attendance.
  • Hands on sessions, and giving the audience tasks to perform during the events is beneficial
  • Have posted all updates on the forum.
  • Shared positive experiences from a small scale Linux installation fest experiment at his home.
  • Queries Discussed: how to choose which events to collaborate on, FOSS events philosophy, how to evangelise FOSS in a compelling way, thoughts on potential event sponsors that may want to promote proprietary products
  • People are not familiar with open source, moving to FOSS is difficult,we should find some cool tools to showcase

Tushar: FOSS Club IIT Bhilai

  • Covered various events, including intro to open source. How to contribute to Open Source, How to earn through open source etc.
  • Events on Git/GitLab, bash scripting.
  • Linux installation party was conducted - Chose to use ubuntu since they wanted the students to use the most basic and popular distribution.
  • Planning FOSS overflow,a winter of code program in collaboration with another open source club, supported by FOSS United.
  • Planning future projects like a CTF.
    Queries: Transition of club leads for the next batch - Leads should work with juniors and groom them into potential leads

Vishal:

  • Suggested scheduling regular calls to improve event structures.

Pranav: FOSS Club STIST

  • Started the club activities in September.
  • Successful events in October and November.
  • First event in october - intro talk on open source, went well
  • They noticed a gap in participation among first years and senior years
  • Facing challenges due to time constraints and exams, lack of time.
  • Advocated for a project management tool for FOSS clubs. (https://taiga.io/)

Subroto: FOSS Club IIIT kalyani

  • Provided updates on the official establishment of the club.
  • Shared the core team formation process and selection criteria.
  • Mentioned plans for an online event and a Linux installation fest.
  • Cybersecurity event tentatively planned for Jan-Feb.

CTA for Ansh and Vishal - Have a call with this core team

3. More discussion on events:

  • Emphasis on collaboration, choosing the right collaboration.
  • Strategies for dealing with sponsors of proprietary products.
  • Ways to make FOSS appealing to those less familiar.

4. Addressing Challenges and Solutions:

  • Acknowledged time constraints and exam challenges.
  • Proposed mentorship between leads and juniors, and also FOSS United’s plans for introducing mentors for each club.

5. Future plans

  • Follow the roadmap shared.
  • FOSS Clubs will play a key role in future cityFOSS conferences and FOSS hack editions.
  • Ansh will conduct one on one calls with all leads this month.
  • Vishal - The team will try to visit the campuses and talk to the clubs’ core teams.
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