1. Learnings from the first year of the OPNFV internship program
Ray Paik (Linux Foundation)
Serena Feng (ZTE)

2. Agenda OPNFV internship program overview (Ray)
Motivation for the internship program
Comparison with other Open Source project internships
Proposing a project, applying for internship, etc.
Changes made to the program and further areas for improvement
What I learned as a mentor (Serena)
Coaching interns that are in different countries/timezones
Regular communications
Learning from other mentors
Scope adjustment

3. Motivation for the internship program
Growing the developer community
Introduce OPNFV & open source software to the next generation of developers
Help with short-term project teams’ needs

4. Internship program in OPNFV
Traditional elements
12-week program around June – August
Students are expected to work full time (40 hours/week)
Students work where they live (no need to relocate) and work with a mentor
Stipends are paid at checkpoints during the internship (e.g. mid-term/final reviews)
Changes made for OPNFV
Year around program
Option to work part-time (20 hours/week) over 24 weeks

5. Internship projects (https://wiki. opnfv
Projects for documentation, cross-community CI, Pharos, testing, VNF catalog, etc.
Stats
Completed projects: 10 (4 in in 2017)
In progress: 4
Openings: 5

6. Learnings & improvements to the program
Benefits of having multiple mentors for projects
Have a set quarterly start dates
e.g. January 1, April 1, June/July 1, and October 1
At the end of the internship
Posting artifacts on the project page
“Final grade” from mentors

7. Areas for improvement/exploration
Communication tool/channel among interns
Job search help for interns
e.g. resumes on the Jobs/Career
Have projects that do not require code development background
e.g. help with community building, documentations, user groups, etc.

8. Considerations in establishing a project
Task scopes
Difficulty
Time budget
Desirable skills & experience

9. 3 months vs 6 months How frequent you can budget for mentoring
How familiar and difficult to you
How frequent you can budget for mentoring
Intern’s time arrangement

10. Coaching methodology They are employees Actually, they are interns
Tell them what needs to be done
But, NOT tell how to do
Actually, they are interns
Not let them fight alone
Give timely support

11. Coaching philosophy Mentor to Intern Mentor and Intern
Trust, patient and supportive
Not overly critical
Mentor and Intern
Go beyond mentor and intern relationship
Intern to Mentor
Open to speak with no fear

12. Coaching philosophy Mentor and Community Intern and Community
Learn from others
Seek help from community
Intern and Community
Talk to community directly
Mentor not proxy everything

13. Scope adjustment Mentor’s challenge: estimation not always accurate
Project needs: requirements may change
Intern’s capability and time schedule

14. Coaching arrangement Meeting Tools Regular weekly meetings
On call for urgent problems
Tools
text: IRC/
video: hangouts/zoom(40min free)/appear-in
timer:

15. Intern’s feedback Smooth elevating ride Be a real team member
Win-Win
Smooth elevating ride
Be a real team member
Work independently
Avoiding confuse by not-consensus
Extra challenging tasks? Welcome

16. Get involved! Students: Community at large
Get in touch with mentors and apply for internship projects posted at
Community at large
Create and post new projects
Talk to and meet with OPNFV interns!
Intern lightning round at the Ideas Nest (Green Tea Room) today at 17:30

17. Questions?