Google is expanding its Google Summer of Code 2007 initiative by over 30 percent from 2006, taking some 134 projects into the program, compared to the 102 it took in 2006.
The news comes one week before the deadline for student applications for Google’s open source program.
The Google Summer of Code 2007 is the third year of the program that offers students and open source organizations cash grants for developing open source projects. The program notched 41 projects in 2005, its inaugural year.
In an interview with internetnews.com earlier this month, Chris DiBona, open source program manger at Google, said Google was pleased with the enrollment and gave the impression that Google would handle the same number for 2007.
For 2007, Google is expanding the program for an additional 200 students, bringing the final total to over 800. The additional students mean that more money is being spent on the program by Google.
Each student who successfully completes a project over the summer will receive $4,500 from Google, while each open source organization that sponsors the student will receive $500 per successful student.
In 2006, Google spent just over $3 million on the Summer of Code, spanning 630 students. With over 800 students for 2007, Google will be pumping over $4 million into the endeavor this year.
The greater number of expected students will also be handled by a greater number of actual mentor organizations.
“We’re adding approximately 200 more students because we value open source
and education and we’re hoping to contribute more in those areas by
expanding the Google Summer of Code program,” Leslie Hawthorn, Google’s open
source program coordinator told internetnews.com.
“The program has
received great feedback over the past two years and we want to give more
students the opportunity to sharpen their skills in software development.”
Google has now posted its list of accepted organizations of 2007 as the admission period for mentors is now closed.
Among the organizations participating this year are some that you might not think off in reference to open source development.
One of them, The Space Telescope Science Institute, is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope and for the James Webb Space Telescope scheduled for launch in 2013.
The Space Telescope has some open source ideas it hopes students will explore.
The last day for students to apply for Summer of Code 2007 is March 24.
