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Application for GSoC

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Application for GSoC

A good proposal is structured, complete and backed by your code contributions. We want you to be honest and realistic while writing your proposal. You must also use Google’s guide to Writing a Proposal.

It’s good to have a well spaced timeline with doable goals for each week and buffers for each task. If you end up not being able to complete what you proposed, then we might consider failing your project.

Our GSoC 2026 project ideas are listed at https://github.com/JabRef/GSoC/ideas-2026.md. Interested? Check our Contribution Guideline and prepare a first improvement. In parallel, you can think of the project you would like to work on.

Finish writing your proposal early so that there are changes to get feedback before the deadline. You can update your proposal on the GSoC page until the deadline. Do not hesitate to share drafts with the mentoring organization.

Please take contributions before the application phase seriously and as a possibility to get to know the project and the people better.

For a successful application to JabRef, provide below information and make sure to make yourself familiar with the Contribution Guidelines.

Please ensure that you include everything mentioned at Elements of a Quality Proposal. In the following a higher-level structure is given.

Most importantly, your proposal should make the impression that you know what you are talking about and that you have the sufficient knowledge, interest and energy to finish the project.

Personal Information

  • Full Name
  • Email and GitHub username
  • Your first language
  • Location and Timezone
  • Share links (website(s), …), if any, of your previous work on open source projects
  • Convince us that you will be a good fit for this project, by sharing links to your contribution to JabRef

Synopsis

Start your proposal with a short summary, designed to convince the reviewer to read the rest of the proposal.

  • What are you making?
  • How will it impact JabRef?
  • What technologies (programming languages, etc.) will you be using?

Planning

  • Break down the entire projects into chunks and tell us what will you work on each week. As the summer goes on, you and your mentor will adjust your schedule, but it’s good to have a plan at the beginning so you have an idea of where you’re headed.
  • If you will be off-the-grid for a few days, then mention those in the timeline.
  • GSoC 2026 has two evaluations, once after every 5 weeks. Highlight the work you plan to complete before each evaluation.
  • Schedule and deliverables
    • In the schedule/timeline, the activities are listed (present tense)
    • Add milestones. Each milestone lists the deliverables provided (past tense. As soon as the milestone is reached, these things will have happened)
      • content: result of an investigation (as Markdown), code, submitted pull request, Markdown-based documentation, …
      • date: Each milestone has a target date
  • How many hours will you spend each week on your project ?
  • How will you report progress between evaluations ?
  • Intended project size
  • Feedback of the community: When will the first thing to try out ready? When will you call for beta testing, how long will the beta testing phase be?
  • Discuss your post GSoC plans. Will you continue contributing to Sugar Labs after GSOC ends ?

What helps, are initial sketches of the first steps or the solution.

Think of how to test the thing, how the documentation could be like, … - You can use a scientific work of yours as example.

Benefits to Community

Include your case for a benefit to the organization, not just to yourself. Why would Google and JabRef be proud to sponsor this work? How would open source or society as a whole benefit? What cool things would be demonstrated?

Biographical information

  • Background
  • Do you have any other commitments during GSoC? Exams, jobs, vacation, …
  • Did you participate in GSoC or any other project before?
    • If yes, which one?
  • Previous experiences
    • What relevant experience have you got, including university, work, and hobby activities?
    • Previous programming language and software engineering experience?
    • What were your previous contributions to JabRef (if any)? (code contributions, documentation contributions, forum support, …)
    • Do you know about BibTeX/BibLaTeX? (Formulate in your own words)
    • Have you used JabRef before?
  • Life after the project. How to you intend to continue contributing to open source in general and JabRef in particular.

Hints

  • Try to write the proposal in LaTeX! This way you will be more familiar with the BibTeX/LaTeX ecosystem.
  • A free tool to make UI mockups: with `Software -> Mockups` shapes.
  • Use Google’s guide to Writing a Proposal.
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