student-fest

Beginner-friendly introduction to open source experience with coding challenges, real projects & student profiles #hacktoberfest

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Welcome to Your Open Source Journey! 🎓✨

Open Source Student Community Starter – [v1.0]

GitHub contributors GitHub issues GitHub PRs License: GPL v3

🚀 Built by students, for students – Created by sehmaluva

Inspired by AliceWonderland’s Hactober Fest Starter Project

Licensed under the GNU GPLv3 License

👋 Hey Student! Yes, You!

Never contributed to open source before? Perfect! This is exactly where you should be.

Worried you’re not good enough? You absolutely are! Every expert was once a beginner.

Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered with step-by-step guides.

This project is designed specifically for students – whether you’re in your first semester learning to code or a senior preparing for your career. Everyone is welcome, and every contribution matters! 🌟

🎯 What Makes This Project Student-Friendly?

✅ Perfect for Complete Beginners

✅ Real Learning Opportunities

✅ Grow at Your Own Pace

✅ Build Your Resume

🚀 Getting Started – Your First 15 Minutes

Never Used Git or GitHub? Start Here! 🌱

Step 1: Set Up Your Account (5 minutes)

  1. Create a GitHub account (it’s free!)
  2. Install Git on your computer
  3. Set up Git with your name and email: 
    git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

Step 2: Fork This Project (2 minutes)

  1. Click the “Fork” button at the top of this page
  2. This creates your own copy of the project!

Step 3: Clone to Your Computer (3 minutes)

# Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your GitHub username
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/student-fest.git
cd student-fest

Step 4: Make Your First Contribution (5 minutes)

🎓 Choose Your Learning Path

🌱 Path 1: “I’m Brand New to Coding”

Perfect if you’re: Taking your first programming course or just started learning

Start with:

You’ll learn: Basic Git commands, markdown formatting, collaboration basics

🌿 Path 2: “I Know Some Programming”

Perfect if you’re: Comfortable with one programming language, done a few class projects

Start with:

You’ll learn: Code review process, testing, working with existing codebases

🌳 Path 3: “I Want to Build Real Projects”

Perfect if you’re: Ready to create something from scratch or add major features

Start with:

You’ll learn: Full development lifecycle, project architecture, collaboration at scale

🎯 Types of Contributions (All Welcome!)

👤 Create Your Student Profile

Share your journey with the community:

Why it matters: Networking, finding study buddies, building your online presence

🧩 Solve Coding Challenges

Practice problem-solving in a supportive environment:

Why it matters: Interview prep, skill building, learning new languages

🚀 Build Real Projects

Create applications that solve real problems:

Why it matters: Portfolio building, practical experience, creativity

📜 Share Scripts & Tools

Help other students with automation:

Why it matters: Giving back to the community, learning automation

📝 Improve Documentation

Make learning easier for everyone:

Why it matters: Communication skills, technical writing experience

🏆 Student Achievement System

Earn Badges as You Learn! 🎖️

🌱 First Timer – Made your first contribution

👤 Profile Pro – Created a student profile

🧩 Problem Solver – Completed coding challenges

🚀 Project Builder – Built real applications

📚 Knowledge Sharer – Contributed to docs

🤝 Community Champion – Helped other students

🔥 Consistent Contributor – Regular participation

💬 Getting Help – We’re Here for You!

Stuck? Confused? That’s Completely Normal!

Before You Ask

  1. Check our FAQ – we probably answered it!
  2. Search existing Issues
  3. Read the relevant guide in docs/guides/

How to Ask for Help

  1. Open an Issue: Create a new issue
    • Use a clear title: “Need help with: [your problem]”
    • Explain what you tried
    • Share error messages (if any)
    • Tag it with help wanted or question

  2. Tag a Mentor: Add @mentor in your issue for guidance

  3. Join Discussions: Ask in our community forum

⏰ Response Time

🎓 Learning Resources for Students

New to Git & GitHub?

Improve Your Coding Skills

Best Practices

🤝 Student Community Guidelines

Our Values

Expected Behavior

📊 Our Growing Student Community

Updated automatically via GitHub Actions

🌟 Student Success Stories

“This was my first open source contribution ever. The community was so welcoming!” – @studentdev2024

“I learned more in one month here than in my entire semester. Highly recommend!” – @codingfreshman

“Got my first internship partly because of contributions I made here!” – @futuredev2025

Want to share your story? Add it in a PR to this README!

🎯 Step-by-Step: Your First Contribution

Option A: Create Your Student Profile (Easiest!)

  1. Copy the template 
    cp docs/templates/PROFILE_TEMPLATE.md profiles/YOUR_USERNAME.md
  2. Fill in your information
    • Your name (or username)
    • Your university/school
    • What you’re studying
    • Your interests and goals
  3. Create a new branch 
    git checkout -b add-my-profile
  4. Save and commit 
    git add profiles/YOUR_USERNAME.md
git commit -m "Add student profile for YOUR_USERNAME"
  5. Push to GitHub 
    git push origin add-my-profile
  6. Create a Pull Request
    • Go to your fork on GitHub
    • Click “Compare & pull request”
    • Fill in the template
    • Submit! 🎉

Option B: Fix Documentation (Also Easy!)

Found a typo? Confusing explanation? Fix it!

  1. Find the file in docs/ or the main README
  2. Click the pencil icon on GitHub
  3. Make your changes
  4. Scroll down and commit directly
  5. GitHub will automatically create a PR for you!

🎁 Special Programs for Students

🎒 GitHub Student Developer Pack

Get free access to premium tools! Includes:

Apply here: education.github.com/pack

🏆 Showcase Your Work

🙋 Frequently Asked Questions (Students)

Q: I’m just a first-year student. Is this too advanced for me? A: Not at all! We have tasks specifically for absolute beginners. Start with creating your profile or fixing a typo.

Q: How much time do I need to commit? A: As much or as little as you want! Even 30 minutes a week is valuable.

Q: Will this help me get an internship? A: Yes! Open source contributions demonstrate initiative, collaboration skills, and real-world experience.

Q: I made a mistake in my PR. What do I do? A: That’s totally fine! Just push more commits to fix it, or ask for help. Mistakes are part of learning.

Q: Can I contribute in languages other than English? A: Yes! We welcome documentation and comments in multiple languages.

Q: I don’t know [insert technology]. Can I still contribute? A: Absolutely! This is a great place to learn. Start small and grow.

See more FAQs →

🚀 Ready to Start?

Your 3-Step Quick Start

  1. 🍴 Fork this repository (button at the top right)
  2. 📝 Pick your first task:
  3. ✨ Submit your Pull Request

Not sure which task? Start with creating your student profile – it takes 10 minutes and you’ll earn your first badge! 🏅

💌 From the Maintainers

Hey student! 👋

We created this project because we remember how intimidating open source felt when we were starting out. This is the project we wish existed when we were learning.

Don’t worry about being perfect. Don’t worry about asking “basic” questions. Everyone here is learning, and we’re all supporting each other.

Your contribution, no matter how small, makes this community better. We’re excited to see what you’ll build!

Happy coding! 🚀

– The Student Fest Team

📄 License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 – see the LICENSE file for details.

## 🎓 Let's Build Something Amazing Together! **Remember**: Every expert was once a beginner who kept going. 💪 **You belong here. You can do this. We believe in you.** ✨
[⭐ Star this repo](https://github.com/sehmaluva/student-fest) • [🍴 Fork it](https://github.com/sehmaluva/student-fest/fork) • [📝 Start Contributing](docs/guides/CONTRIBUTING.md)
**Made with 💙 by students, for students**