The Value of Mentoring in Open Source

The OCTOpod: Conversations with SUSE's Office of the CTO

Mentoring is part of many organizations and companies, but it can be a controversial practice. In today’s episode, we talk about the value of mentoring in the open source community. Our guests today are Rossella Sblendido, who directs the engineering department SUSE, and Sayali Lunkad, a software developer at SUSE and a self-proclaimed open-source enthusiast. Rossella has been a mentor and Sayali has experience as a mentee. We hear about what makes a good mentor and why it is a role you have to learn to inhabit. Sayali shares what being a mentee was like and the value that comes with being given opportunities to learn. Rossella and Sayali respond to some of the common criticisms around mentoring and suggest how these relationships can be successful. Our conversation also touches on what mentors gain from the relationship, opportunities for mentorship in open source, and advice for either aspiring mentors or mentees.
Key Points From This Episode:

• How mentoring works in the open source world and the purpose it serves.
• Who usually sponsors open source mentoring programs.
• Responses to some of the common criticisms around mentorship programs.
• The primary responsibilities of a mentor, and attributes that make a mentor effective.
• Sayali’s experience as a mentee, and the project that she worked on.
• The attribute Sayali found most helpful during her mentorship program.
• How Sayali came to the OpenStack Outreachy program,
• Why Rossella decided to become a mentor.
• Some of the reasons Sayali would recommend mentorship opportunities for upcoming developers.
• The availability of mentorship programs in open source.
• Advice for aspiring mentors and potential mentees.
• Final words from Rossella about mentoring.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Rossella Sblendido

Sayali Lunkad

Outreachy

Linux Foundation

Google Summer of Code