Djangonaut Space now accepting applications for our next contributor mentorship cohort

Posted by Sarah Boyce on October 19, 2023

We are thrilled to announce that Django has a mentorship program, and that we're open for applicants for our next cohort!

Djangonaut Space is an organization working to onboard and develop open source code contributors to Django and beyond. People sustain the framework and its ecosystem. By inviting more people to participate in this community, and giving them the resources and support to succeed, we aim to develop the future leaders of Django.

Our journey began with our pilot “Djangonaut Space Contributor Program” which ran from July to October 2023 with 6 Djangonauts focussing on contributions to Django core.

In this time our Djangonauts progressed 9 tickets and closed out 4 of them before the 5.0 feature freeze! There were 25 weekly catch ups, 16 one to ones, 154 pull request review comments and 2 presentations from our Django Fellows! Not to mention, 100% of Djangonauts reported that they felt more comfortable engaging in the Django community after the program.

“What I like with Djangonaut Space, we have the feeling of being part of the community, especially by meeting the folks I’ve seen working on Django” - Tushar, Djangonaut

We have also received a grant from the Django Software Foundation! We will use these funds to invest in our Djangonauts and in tools for the program. From all the organizers of Djangonaut Space, thank you so much for your generosity and support.

If you also wish to support this program financially, please reach out to our organiser team: contact@djangonaut.space.

So how does the program work?

Djangonauts are assigned a “Navigator” who guides them on their contributing journey. A Navigator coaches a small group of 3-4 Djangonauts and attends weekly check-ins with them to discuss any challenges they might be facing. Djangonauts also have extra support in the form of a “Captain”. Our Captains organize one to one sessions with Djangonauts to provide extra pastoral support and encouragement. They bring the warmth of the Django community to the program.

As our pilot program was a great success, we are happy to announce that we are accepting applications for our next program, starting January 15th 2024 for a duration of 8 weeks.

How to apply

Please apply here: https://forms.gle/oYVX4mJ27oy7o87f8

If you are interested in supporting our program by being a Navigator or a Captain, please reach out via this form: https://forms.gle/SnJdw9iEEL4ujQ4L9

There are many valuable ways to contribute to Django. If working on the framework is something you dream of doing, we want to help you succeed.

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