Event:Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group/Developer Skill Development Program India 2025

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Title	Developer Skill Development Program India 2025
Dates	May 2025 – February 2026 (remote; online) In-person conclusion: March 2026
Location	New Delhi, India
Application Form	~~Application Form~~ (Deadline: 18 May 2025)
Organized by	Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group
Contact	contactindicmediawikidev.org
Status	Done
Project showcase	Developer_Skill_Development_Program_India_2025/Projects_Showcase

The Developer Skill Development Program India 2025 was a structured initiative designed to nurture and strengthen the Wikimedia technical contributor base in India. During the past 2-3 years, there have been several initiatives taken up various stakeholders across the country to grow the technical community -- it includes but not limited to various hackathons/workshops organized by IMD-UG, Road to Wiki program, hackathons by IIITH etc. While these programs have been effective in bringing new contributors to the community, we have observed a gap in advancing to working more complex issues, features and projects.

The program is aimed at filling the gap of advanced technical contributors and future mentors by focusing on sustained, intermediate-to-advanced upskilling for individuals who are already familiar with Wikimedia’s technical ecosystem.

Organized by the Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group (IMD-UG), the program is tailored to support contributors who have moved past the basics, such as fixing “good first tasks,” and are interested in learning and working on more complex bugs, feature requests, or tool-building efforts. It emphasizes not just skill-building, but also contributor retention within Wikimedia’s ecosystem.

The program runs for approximately 4-6 months and follows a cohort-based, blended model. It combines remote mentorship and guided project work with regular checkpoints and a final in-person convening. This closing event offers a space for participants to showcase their progress, receive feedback, and network with fellow contributors.

Key objectives

Enable existing Wikimedia technical contributors in India to move beyond “good first tasks” and work on complex bugs, feature development, and tool-building.
Provide structured mentorship and learning support to help participants navigate advanced technical challenges within Wikimedia projects.
Develop a sustainable pipeline of intermediate-to-advanced contributors who can eventually take on mentorship and leadership roles.
Improve contributor retention by offering guided projects, peer learning, and regular technical check-ins.
Strengthen the overall Wikimedia technical ecosystem in India by producing high-quality, community-relevant technical outputs.

Eligibility criteria for potential applicants

Note: This program has concluded, this section is kept for historical purposes.

Must have past experience in contributing one or more of the technical areas of Wikimedia.
- Note: this does not need to be extensive or advanced, but some familiarity is expected.
Must be in community good standing (i.e. not blocked/banned), and no past violations of code of conduct for Wikimedia technical spaces.
While editors with some technical understanding of Wikimedia projects and motivation to learn can also apply, we would like to note that the program is designed for developers and you'd be expected to learn programming alongside other participants.
While it can vary from participant to participant, area to area, the time commitment is expected to be around 5 to 8 hrs per week on average for the duration of the program. This can be low during some weeks and more during others, and you can catch-up if needed. In-principle, we expect active participation and commitment to learn.

Program Structure

Program Methodology / Approach

The Developer Skill Development Program India 2025 follows a structured, cohort-based methodology to ensure effective learning, mentorship, and project execution.

Cohort-based learning: Participants are grouped into cohorts to enable peer learning, collaboration, and shared progress tracking.
Blended model: The program combines remote mentorship and online learning with milestone-based project work. A concluding in-person event provides an opportunity for participants to showcase their projects and engage with the broader Wikimedia community.
Project selection: Participants select or are assigned projects aligned with their skill sets and learning goals. Skills mapping during onboarding helps identify the right projects and ensures alignment with both participant growth and community needs.
Mentorship-driven progress: Mentors provide guidance on applying skills, resolving blockers, and meeting milestones. Mentorship is focused on facilitation rather than formal teaching.
Flexible learning: Participants are encouraged to self-learn using recommended resources, while mentors guide them to relevant tutorials, documentation, and learning platforms.

Areas to be supported

MediaWiki Core
Action API, MediaWiki extensions, PHP, Backend architecture and core platform development

User scripts, gadgets & templates
JavaScript, jQuery, Lua, On-wiki scripting, UI enhancements, and contributor tools

Web-based tool development
Flask/Django, HTML, CSS, React, Vue, Node.js and external Wikimedia tools.

Bots
Automation bots, maintenance scripts and workflows using Wikimedia APIs.

Program Timeline

The Developer Skill Development Program India 2025 follows a structured schedule to ensure effective learning, mentorship, and project delivery. Key dates and milestones are summarized below:

Phase	Dates	Key Activities / Deliverables
Prep and Call for Participation Open	30 April 2025	Announcement of program, sharing application form, onboarding guidance.
Participation Application Deadline	18 May 2025	Submission of participant applications and skill self-assessment.
Onboarding & Orientation	Late July – Early August 2025	Orientation session, project allocation, skill mapping, introduction to mentors and communication channels.
Learning / Coding Period	August – October / November 2025	Remote project development, skill-building, milestone check-ins, peer and mentor collaboration.
Mid-Program Check-ins	September – November 2025 (biweekly/weekly)	Progress evaluation, addressing blockers, mentor feedback, updates on project milestones.
Pre-Concluding Project Review	End of January 2026	Participants expected to have near-complete projects; progress check for in-person conclusion eligibility.
In-Person Conclusion	27-29 March 2026	Showcase of projects, discussion on challenges, feedback from mentors and peers, community networking.

Projects

The following table lists the projects undertaken as part of the Developer Skill Development Program India 2025, along with the participating contributors, focus areas, and assigned mentors. The program includes a total of 25 participants working across multiple technical domains.

Project Title	Link	Participant(s)	Category
Montage	GitHub	Abhinavmohandas	Web-based tool development
Create WikiContest tool	Phabricator	Aditya Kumar, Gauri Gupta	Web-based tool development
Enhancing Transclusion in Wikisource: Visual Interface for Page Inclusion	Phabricator	Agamyasamuel	MediaWiki core / extensions
Bot to automatically replace categories based on conditions	Commons discussion	Archies2804	Bots
Difficulty adding links directly in Infobox via Source Edit Mode	Phabricator	AshmitaBathre204	MediaWiki core / extensions
Linkable Terms Highlighter		AyushShukla1807, Herdaisymione	User scripts, gadgets & templates
Wiki Script Publisher	GitHub Demo Meta-Wiki	Dev_Jadiya	Bots
Watchlist: Reveal prior unseen revision when filters hide current revision	Meta-Wiki	Hridyesh_Gupta, Avarti_Rastogi02	MediaWiki core / extensions
RecentPageStats	GitHub	Jnanaranjan_sahu	MediaWiki core / extensions
Wiki Community Alerts Dashboard	GitHub	Kalli Navya, Swayam Agrahari	Data analytics
ToolWatch	GitHub	Keerthan16, GauthamMohanraj	Web-based tool development
ISA Tool	Phabricator	Marrivs	Web-based tool development
CiteFix	GitLab	ParasharSarthak	Web-based tool development
Edit-war-detecting bot or bots	Meta-Wiki	Ravitej_Neeli	Bots
Indic Community Insights		Rihaan180, Harigovind C B	Data analytics
Wikidata Watchlist Language Filter and Translation Integration	Meta-Wiki	Rohansingh1010	MediaWiki core / extensions
Display Total Number of References Next to Language Links	Meta-Wiki	VanshikaRathi	User scripts, gadgets & templates
Larger thumbnails in category views	Meta-Wiki	Shivanshu_k28	MediaWiki core / extensions

In-person conclusion

Location: Gurgoan, Delhi-NCR, India.

Program

Start	End	Session	Speaker / facilitator
27 Mar 2026 (Friday)
9:00 AM	9:45 AM	Welcome and introductions	KCVelaga Vasanth Gopa
9:45 AM	10:30 AM	Icebreaker - Group activity	Gauri Gupta Rachit Sharma
10:30 AM	11:00 AM	Break
11:00 AM	1:00 PM	Project showcases	everyone
1:00 PM	2:00 PM	Lunch
2:00 PM	4:00 PM	[Workshop] Content editing in Wikimedia projects	Pavan Santhosh Kasyap K
4:00 PM	5:30 PM	[Workshop] Global Trends and Communicating Impact	Rachit Sharma
at 5:30 PM		Group photo
5:30 PM	7 PM	Optional: socializing / hacking space / unconference
28 Mar 2026 (Saturday)
9:30 AM	11:00 AM	[Workshop] More than Privacy Policies: Tech development and evolving regulatory landscapes	Sapni G K
11:00 AM	11:30 AM	Break
11:30 AM	12:30 PM	[Talk] India’s Digital Public Infrastructure & Open Source Landscape	Akash Shukla
12:30 PM	1:30 PM	[Group activity] Strategic partnerships and planning	Praveen Das
1:30 PM	2:30 pm	Lunch
2:30 pm	4:15 PM	[Workshop] UX Design 101 for developers	Sudhanshu Guatam
4:15 PM	5:00 PM	Break / transit
5:00 PM	7:00 PM	Social outing to Museo Camera
29 Mar 2026 (Sunday)
9:30 AM	11:00 AM	[Workshop] Technical writing in the age of AI	Srihari Thyagarajan
11:00 AM	11:30 AM	Break
11:30 AM	1:30 PM	[Talk] How and why of amFOSS [Group activity] Mapping technical contribution pathways and retention	Vipin Pavithran
1:30 PM	2:30 PM	Lunch
2:30 PM	3:30 PM	How much AI is too much AI?	Abhinav Mohandas
3:30 PM	4:30 PM	Forking around and finding out @ FOSS United	Ashlesh Biradar
4:30 PM	5:30 PM	Closing and next steps
5:30 PM	6:30 PM	Optional: socializing / hacking space / unconference

Organization

Coordination

please reach out to coordinators for any support during the program, and mentors will be assigned separately before the program begins.

Organization

Contact

For any questions, please reach out to us on the Meta-Wiki talk page or via email at contactindicmediawikidev.org