Outreachy/Round 32
Wikimedia has participated in Outreachy since 2013. Outreachy provides internships in open source and open science, to people subject to systemic bias and impacted by underrepresentation in the technical industry where they are living. Outreachy is a three-month, full-time internship and runs two editions every year. Internship projects may include programming, research, user experience, documentation, graphical design, data science, marketing, user advocacy, event planning, and more!
Outreachy collaboration is with Wikimedia's Chief Product & Technology Officer (CPTO) team and Wikimedia also provides funding for Outreachy internships.
Updated guidelines
[edit]As of 2026, we are changing project selection to align with the Wikimedia Foundation’s goals and to ensure a positive learning experience for interns.
- We will prioritize projects that align with the WMF Annual Plan, specifically the Community Wishlist and/or the Product and Technology Objectives. This ensures that we are focusing on projects with community demand and/or strategic alignment.
- We want to ensure a safe and productive environment for interns. Projects that require extensive community consultation will not be selected.
- Mentors can only support one project. This means that mentors cannot participate in two Outreachy projects or in both Google Summer of Code and Outreachy at the same time. This ensures that mentors have sufficient capacity for their project and interns get the time and attention they need to do well.
- Mentors will first submit their projects to Phabricator only, via this task. After we have reviewed projects, we notify approved mentors that they are cleared to submit their projects to the Outreachy website. The deadline for this submission is March 7, 2026 at 4pm UTC. This will help make the submission process more efficient.
- In order to be accepted, all projects must have at least two mentors at the time of submission. This allows us to see which projects are fully staffed.
- In order to be accepted, all projects must have microtasks on Phabricator at the time of submission. This allows us to see which projects are fully prepared and makes it easier for prospective interns to understand how to start contributing.
We acknowledge that this is different from how we approached Outreachy rounds in the past. However, we believe that these changes will improve the program, and we will continue to evaluate the results and iterate as needed.
Outreachy information and resources
[edit]Recommended steps for interns
[edit]- Step-by-Step Application Process
- After you've been accepted: community bonding period
- Tasks to do during your internship
- Stay involved after your internship is complete
After you've been accepted and before the internship period kicks off
[edit]- Start communicating with your mentors on refining your project proposal, finalizing deadlines and setting milestones.
- Join Zulip as we use the chat application to share program-related announcements and opportunities for participating in Wikimedia activities.
- Set up your blog, if you don't already have one.
- We'll remind you to submit blot posts throughout the program and link to them from the project reports section in the table below.
- You'll want to create your blogs on a platform where the URL lives forever, such as Google Blogger or Medium.
- Setup up your MediaWiki user page and keep it up to date with your project work and reports.
- (Optional) Upload your profile picture on Wikimedia Commons, and add it below your name in the selected projects table.
- (Optional) Stay in touch with Wikimedia community members and help them learn more about you:
- Subscribe to Wikimedia mailing list wikitech-l@lists.wikimedia.org
- Setup up your MediaWiki user page and keep it up to date with your project work and reports (example 1, example 2).
- Interested in learning about other Wikimedia technical topics? Watch some videos.
Program timeline
[edit]Wikimedia will be taking part in Outreachy Round 32 (2026 May 18 to August 17), see the full program timeline.
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| Mar 7 at 4pm UTC | Project submission deadline |
| Mar 17 - Apr 15 at 4pm UTC | Contribution period |
| May 1 at 4pm UTC | Accepted interns announced |
| May 18 - Aug 17 | Internship period |
Selected projects
[edit]There is a main Phabricator task where the project information can be found.
| Project summary | Intern and location | Mentors | Updates | Blog posts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Addressing the lusophone technological wishlist proposals - Visual Editor / Wikidata | Ana Maria Ruiz, Bolivia | @Ederporto @Arcstur |
Contact
[edit]- Wikimedia uses Zulip for its Outreach programs to connect students and mentors. Zulip is a free and open source chat group application that we use to share program-related announcements and opportunities for participating in Wikimedia activities.
- Wikimedia's Zulip instance is hosted at http://wikimedia.zulipchat.com.
- Discover more details about the Zulip application, communication tips and guidelines, as well as why it's encouraged to use.
- For Outreachy Round 32, reach out on the chat channel. (coming soon)
- Wikimedia organization administrators are also available on Zulip: Lani Goto, Mahfuza Mohona, Vasanth Gopa, Osuolale Marv.
- We encourage applicants to communicate in the public streams and refrain from sending private emails/messages whenever possible.
- Open communication allows fellow applicants to learn from your questions. It also gives all community members a chance to answer your queries. This way, queries get answered sooner and the administrators do not become a bottleneck.
- See also our communication tips and get help on technical questions.
Be part of something big
[edit]We believe that knowledge should be free for every human being. By working with us, you're contributing to one of the world's largest collaborative knowledge base. You will be adding value to the vast pool of knowledge that has been and will keep satisfying the everlasting curiosity of knowing more. You can be part of a team that solves challenges and scales features to a million users. From desktop to mobile to analytics to bots, it has something to offer for everyone.
We prioritize efforts that empower disadvantaged and underrepresented communities, and that help overcome barriers to participation. We believe in mass collaboration, diversity and consensus building to achieve our goals.
Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia written in over 300 languages by volunteers around the world and 1.5 billion unique devices access Wikimedia projects every month. Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata and Wiktionary are some of the other free content projects hosted by Wikimedia thanks to MediaWiki. There is also a wide collection of open source software projects around them.
Much more can be done: stabilize infrastructure, increase participation, improve quality, increase reach, and encourage innovation. Join us!