Outreachy is a paid, remote internship program. Outreachy's goal is to support people from groups underrepresented in tech. We help newcomers to Free and Open Source Software make their first contributions.

What is Free Software and Open Source?



Are you new to the free software world? Outreachy is for you! The term "free software" or "open source" means that you have the freedom to use, copy, study, change, and improve a project. Examples of open source projects include software like Linux or Firefox, documentation projects like Wikipedia, or graphic design projects like OpenClipArt.org. If you're new to open source, we encourage you to read an introductory article.

Open source projects are built collaboratively. Open source contributors work together publicly. Working publicly creates a fun collaborative community around a project. It allows anyone to make innovative changes that reach many people.

Open source contributors work on a lot of different things! You can contribute by developing software. Or you might want to improve user experience by contributing design work. You can help with documentation, community management, marketing, identifying issues and reporting bugs, helping users, event organization, graphic design, and translations.

Sometimes people work on open source in their spare time. Many contributors are employed by companies and non-profit organizations to work on open source. That includes the companies that are sponsoring Outreachy! Experience with open source is highly valuable in the professional world. Your contributions to open source provide a public portfolio for you. Employers can see your history of public collaboration, which will give them confidence when making hiring decisions.

Why Apply to Outreachy?

I reaaaaally don't want my @outreachy internship with @mozilla to end. The last 2 months were incredible. 💙 — Prathiksha (@prathiksha0105) August 11, 2017

The amount of knowledge I've gained as an OpenSource developer being an @outreachy Intern + the conviction is something Ill cherish forever! https://t.co/sXbqbFcJFg — Urvika Gola (@UrvikaGola) August 23, 2017

Cannot recommend this program enough. Definitely worth participating.. Thank you @outreachy for the best 3 months https://t.co/yfsBrRJCJi — Princiya (@princi_ya) August 23, 2017

Some update on my amazing @outreachy journey. Really learning and great mentorship from @Ceph mentors. https://t.co/MA4jgAWd5W — Joannah Nanjekye (@Captain_Joannah) June 30, 2017

Started as a mentee, continued as a mentor. I've seen really great talent grow thanks to this program. Please consider applying! https://t.co/OFC17vM5pH — vkmc (@vkmc) August 22, 2017

I'd tell them it was the best experience of my life, made me realize my love for Software & made me overcome impostor syndrome. — Mansimar Kaur (@mkaur1102) August 27, 2017

Outreachy provides an opportunity for an online collaborative environment for learning, and remote mentoring with experienced FOSS contributors, many of whom are employed to work with free and open source software. The Outreachy travel stipend gives interns a chance to network with their community, give their first public tech talk, look for a job, or learn new skills.But don't take our word for it! Here's what some of our past Outreachy interns have to say about our program:Blog posts with tips for applying to internship programs:

Outreachy internships were inspired in many ways by Google Summer of Code. Our program is designed to support people from groups underrepresented in tech. We reach talented and passionate participants, who are uncertain about how to get started in free and open source software. We hope this effort will help many people learn how exciting, varied and valuable work on FOSS projects can be and how inclusive the community really is. This program is a welcoming link that will connect you with people working on individual projects in various FOSS organizations and guide you through your first contribution.