We are pleased to announce Google has accepted Joomla!'s application to participate in the 2008 Google Summer of Code (SoC) program. This is Joomla!'s fourth season and we are eager to welcome another group of contributors with fresh ideas.

With the Summer of Code, Google sets up a win-win situation for students and open source projects. Instead of flipping burgers during summer break, talented student developers can do what they love and write great code in exchange for a $4,500 USD stipend. Even open source projects benefit with improvements to the code base and a $500 USD stipend per participant.

Perhaps the most important benefit is the long term involvement that can result. Both Nur Aini Rakhmawati and Hannes Papenberg were invited to join the Joomla! Development Team after successful SoC projects.

If you are a student interested in participating, consider Joomla!

Joomla! is an international award-winning open source content management system deployed worldwide with more than 3.5 million downloads in the last year alone. If you participate with Joomla!, your work could have a positive impact on people all around the world. If you enjoy developing applications and you want to work with experienced developers using emerging technologies, consider Joomla!.

Since Joomla! 1.5 has recently been released after over two years of dedicated effort, this summer looks even more promising. In just a few months, Joomla! 1.5 has been downloaded over 350,000 times. Developers now have an object-oriented, pattern based API that follows best practices and is organized into well-structured and logical framework packages. The new MVC design pattern for components gives developers a great platform for rapid application development and prototyping. Developers can hook into nearly any part of the application stack using Joomla!'s newly reworked events system, implemented according to the observer design pattern.

Want to get started? Here's how:

• Make certain you are eligible to participate.
• Read the Student Guidelines shared in Joomla! forums.
• Read Google's Summer of Code Advice for Students, FAQ and Knowledge Base.
• If you are looking for project ideas, check out the White Papers submitted by community members for possible inclusion in version 1.6.
• Get to know us! Feel free to share your project proposals and get our feedback before submitting to Google.

The student application period begins Monday, March 24, 2008 and ends Monday, March 31st at 5:00 PM PDT. The application and submittal instructions will be provided on the Google SoC 2008 page soon. Other important dates and events are detailed in FAQ - Project Timeline.

Do you want to be a mentor?

Another great way to participate is to become a mentor. Get ready to learn, meet a new and interesting friend, and have fun. Mentoring for the Google Summer of Code project has proven to be a rewarding experience. It's not only a good way to share your knowledge and experience, but it is also an excellent way to get more involved with the Joomla! Project and to get to know other Joomla! developers.

For more information, read Want to be a Mentor? Start reading here! in the Joomla! forums and Google's Advice for mentors. Feel free to ask questions in the forums about participation.

This will be another great Google Summer of Code program!

Thanks to all of our past SoC participants, mentors, and especially to Google for helping make good things happen with the Google Summer of Code program. We are confident 2008 will be the best year ever!