Open Source
Saturday
Learn. Mentor. Collaborate
Program Leaders
Meet the Conduit leaders passionate about open source and dedicated to creating opportunities.
Program Overview
Every Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM, community members from around San Diego get together to collaboratively contribute to open source projects. The group is open to people of all backgrounds, skill levels, and expertise. The program was started by Kevin Brewer, our main facilitator, and Dan Hendricks, the program host. It is generously hosted by Dan at OSML — Open Source Maker Labs — in Vista. Open source is about more than software, thus OSML provides the tools necessary to contribute to hardware and IoT projects as well. OSML features a full workshop with 3D printing, electronics, robotics, and CNC machines.
At Open Source Saturday, you will find a fun, motivating, inclusive environment to foster consistent open source contributions. This provides an avenue for mentorship so newer devs can learn how to contribute to open source. From git workflows to branching strategies to commit messages, participants will learn the conventions of working with git on a collaborative team. Gain real world coding experience, and build your mentoring skills. Give back. Level up.
One of our goals is to establish San Diego as a hotbed of open source contribution. If you are an open source maintainer, or if you are familiar with a particular project, Open Source Saturday is a great opportunity to onboard new contributors. If you are a new developer who would like to learn how to contribute to open source, you will find experienced contributors who can provide guidance. If you are an experienced developer yourself, you will find a motivating, collaborative atmosphere to have fun making new contributions. And if you are not a programmer, the group could use your insights into visual design, user experience, accessibility, and more.
Don’t miss out
Here’s more of what to expect
If you’re new to open source projects, developing your skills as a software developer, or work with any software-based product development efforts (project management, testing, marketing, UX/UI…) — all are welcome!
Sessions are centered around coding and software development, but the conversations and connections are very diverse. Have questions about careers in the tech field? Have an idea that you’d like to bounce off some smart people for good feedback? Want to mentor new professionals entering the tech sector? There’s something for everyone.
The sessions are very open and welcoming to everyone — that’s the point. There’s no “membership” or “entry requirements”. If you want to connect and learn from others in your community – just stop by!
Attend Open Source Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM at Open Source Maker Labs in Vista. Want to host a session? Start your own Open Source Saturday Meetup by registering.
Tips to get the most out of this program.
Bring your curiosity. Ask questions. “What are you working on today?” “Where do you work and what do you do?” “How did you get started in tech/software?”
If you’re working on an open source project of any kind, bring it and share. Invite people to join the project with you, and introduce them to how it works.
If you’d like feedback on something (anything form software to a business idea), bring it and pitch it.