Google Summer of Code#
Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is a global fully online program whose aim is to bring new developers into open source software. It is a great opportunity to gain experience in real-world software development while helping the open source community. Additionally, GSoC contributors receive a stipend from Google.
Initially focused on university students, since 2022 the program has expanded to welcome students and all beginner contributors to open source who are 18 years and older to participate.
The Neuroinformatics Unit (NIU) takes part in GSoC to offer paid experience working on open-source neuroscience and machine learning tools. The computational neuroanatomy project, BrainGlobe is also included within the NIU for GSoC.
GSoC 2026
If the Neuroinformatics Unit takes part in GSoC in 2026, details about projects etc. will be posted here in due course.
How does GSoC work?#
Through the GSoC application process, interested applicants submit project proposals to the various organizations participating in GSoC - in our case, the NIU. Then, the organizations select which proposals they would like to see funded by Google. Successful applicants will spend their summer contributing code to our open source organization under the guidance of our mentoring team.
To learn more about the program, we recommend reading the GSoC FAQs and the GSoC Contributor Guide. For general information, see also the GSoC website.
Apply to GSoC with NIU#
As part of your application to GSoC, you will need to submit a project proposal. To help you with this, we provide some NIU guidelines on how to write a successful proposal to work with us.
You may also want to checkout other useful application guides, such as:
The OpenAstronomy one, or
The INCF one,
all of which we are closely following. Applicants are given about 2 weeks to complete their applications. For further details see the GSoC Contributor Guide.
If you are interested in working with the NIU for GSoC, feel free to get in touch on our GSoc Zulip channel with any questions. Please reach out in public channels, rather than via DMs or personal conversations - communicating in the open is a big part of open source! However, if you have any concerns you wish to discuss privately (such as accessibility), please contact one of the organisation admins.
For clarity, please always use your full name when getting a Zulip account, when registering for the program, and when submitting your project plan.