GSoC Proposals: Level of Detail

[Fawzi Mohamed]

On 8-apr-11, at 17:15, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:

> On 4/8/11 8:40 AM, dsimcha wrote:
>> I've been looking over some of the GSoC proposals and I've noticed  
>> that
>> most aren't very detailed. It seems most of the students have only a
>> very rough idea of what they want to do and plan on filling in the
>> details at the beginning of the project. I don't have experience with
>> GSoC and I'm trying to understand whether this is a problem or is  
>> what's
>> expected. How detailed are the proposals supposed to be?
>
> I emailed all student proposing a project the following. After the  
> email we got a lot of updates.
>
>
> Andrei
>
> ============
> Hello,
>
>
> Apologies for the semi-automated email.
>
> You should know that the deadline is only a few hours away - on the  
> 8th April at 19:00 UTC. Be careful! That may mean a different time  
> at your location. Refer to this link:
>
> http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?month=4&day=8&year=2011&hour=19&min=0&sec=0&p1=0
>
> You should expect an interview during the application review period.  
> There is no need for special preparation. The interview consists of  
> a few simple questions and a couple of coding exercises. You should  
> have an Internet connection handy; the interview uses www.collabedit.com 
>  for writing code. Phone is fine, Skype is preferable.
>
> Below are a few tips regarding last-minute polishing of your  
> application.
>
> * Make sure you send our way a detailed overview of the project you  
> are embarking on. A good overview should clarify that you have a  
> good understanding of the problem domain and that you are capable of  
> carrying the task through.
>
> * Please mention your fluency in the D programming language.
>
> * Specify a plan for your project, with deadlines and deliverables.  
> Make sure it is something that you can realistically commit to.
>
> * Mention how much time you realistically expect to spend on the  
> project. If you plan to take a vacation or otherwise be unavailable  
> for some time, please specify.
>
> * Needless to say, it is in your best interest to be honest.
>
> * Mention in brief, if you can, alternative topics/projects you  
> might be working on. We have had quite a few overlapping  
> applications - there are five proposals for containers, for example.  
> We wouldn't want to let you compete and then choose the best  
> implementation, so we will allow only 1-2 applications on  
> containers. In case you are interested in containers, how  
> comfortable are you with advanced containers - Bloom filters, tries,  
> generalized suffix trees, skip lists...?
>
> * At the same time, don't spread yourself too thin. A too broad  
> application loses focus and enthusiasm for any one specific topic.
>
> * Include anything that you believe is relevant to the project(s) of  
> your choice: courses completed, grades, references, experience on  
> similar projects. Feel free to paste your resume. Don't forget we  
> start with knowing nothing about you.
>
> * Above all, be honest about everything. This program is at Google's  
> considerable expense, not to mention the time your mentors will  
> invest. Above everything, the best outcome of this for you is  
> establishing an excellent reputation with everybody involved.
>
>
> Good luck!
>
> Andrei

Excellent, I was thinking that an interview would be the best thing to  
evaluate the candidates.

Fawzi