We're excited to partner with the creators of the docu-series, Beyond the Classroom: Open Source Stories. This exciting partnership highlights our commitment to showcasing the diverse and impactful journeys of students in open source and celebrating the power of community-driven innovation.
About Open Source Stories: This four-episode documentary series, to be released in October 2024 in commemoration of Hacktoberfest, tells the stories of Nigerian students (including one of OSCA’s Chapter Leads) who have embraced open source and transformed their tech careers. The series features eight students from different Universities in Nigeria, shining a spotlight on how open source can open doors to incredible opportunities and what building a career in open source looks like.
Each episode explores different themes within open source:
Episode One: Hello World: This episode captures the moment when each student discovered open source. Through their stories, they share what open source means to them, how they were introduced to it, and the first steps they took to contribute.
Episode Two: Blooming Where You Are Planted: In this episode, the students recount how they carved out their unique space within the open source ecosystem. They tell stories of trials and errors, roadblocks, and moments that helped them find their niche.
Episode Three: Money Makes the World Go Round: This episode brings the stories of contributors who turned their open source passion into something sustainable. They explain how they discovered financial opportunities like Google Summer of Code (GSoC) and Outreachy and how they navigate the balance between passion projects and income.
Episode Four: It Takes a Village: In the final episode, the students open up about the deeper motivations that keep them engaged in open source long after financial opportunities are secured. Through their stories, we explore the sense of community, friendships, and the impact of their contributions. This episode highlights the personal satisfaction and emotional connections that drive them to continue, showing how open source goes beyond code.
This partnership reflects OSCA’s commitment to fostering open source contributions and to create an atmosphere in which Africans not only use software and hardware but are also creators of these technologies. Beyond the Classroom offers an intimate look at how open source has become a vital part of these students’ personal and professional growth, as well as the communities that have helped them thrive.
The series will be released throughout October to coincide with HacktoberFest, with new episodes dropping every Friday. OSCA is proud to play a role in bringing these inspiring stories to the global open source community, and we can’t wait for you to experience the incredible journeys of these young developers. You can watch all the released episodes in the playlist below. Cheers! 🧡