This year I took part in the GSoC program. I'm so happy with how it turned out and the experience as a whole. If you want to know about it, keep reading!

Getting selected🔗

Making a good proposal was probably the hardest part for me. I had already tried last year and didn't get selected, so it was a bit tough to bring myself to write another one. Luckily this year I found a project in which I would work in Rust, which is, at least currently, my favourite programming language. This helped motivate me and I started preparing my proposal. It wasn't easy, because I was also dealing with assignments from my university and I didn't have much time. After I sent the proposal I kind of forgot about it. I was busy with my classes and didn't think about it much until i knew I got selected! I felt like my efforts were being rewarded, but I had obviously a lot of work left to do.

The program🔗

I worked in the htsget-rs project collaborating with the Global Alliance for Genomics & Health. I started the day after I finished my exams, the dates aligned perfectly, but that also meant I didn't have a break. Following some tips Google provided I tried to spend roughly 4 hours a day in the project. After a really stressful semester in my degree, 4 hours didn't feel like a lot and it did allow me to finish the project on time while enjoying the development without feeling pressure to work faster. I also felt I had a lot of luck, because my mentor and my partner in the project (who was also a GSoC student) were both awesome to work with and really understanding. If you want to read more about the work itself, here you can find a wrap-up my mentor wrote.

Results🔗

I really liked my experience in the program and would recommend it to anyone. I would also like to repeat next year if possible, but I don't know in what projects I might be involved.