Thanks to alumni and faculty of West Virginia University's Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, students with an interest in software development will now be able to fund their education through an Open Source Scholarship.

Alumni Andrew Butcher and Tim Bielawa, gained experience in open source software as students and wanted to provide opportunities for current and future students via this scholarship. Assisting them on the scholarship board are David Krovich, professional technologist in the Lane Department; Professor Roy Nutter; and Lane Department Chair Brian Woerner.

Students interested in the scholarship are required to create a portfolio that demonstrates their contributions to open source software. As part of the application process, when an individual makes modifications to the software they post their contribution to the scholarship website. The more impactful their contributions, the more likely they are to get a recommendation from the board of the scholarship fund. The deadline for applications will be in late November with the first awards made in the spring 2014 semester. For more information, visit http://opensourcescholars.org.

Involvement in open source communities will be an important part of the education of any student who is interested in a career in software and technology. And, WVU hopes this scholarship helps grow and foster students' interest in open source and free software.