I was fascinated to read recently about the Google Code Jam in India, which attracted more than 14,000 entrants from the region. Very innovative and cool stuff — I think one of the big challenges into the future for open source and technology organizations in general is how to effectively engage with communities outside of the US, Canada and Western Europe.
I’d been wondering what my employer was up to in this area, and today, Red Hat announced an Open Source Scholarship program, in conjunction with IIT Bombay. This is actually the third annual such event, although I’m not sure on the details of previous years. This year, a number of scholarships are available for several amounts ranging from 50,000 Rs to 200,000 Rs, for students at colleges in India to develop Open Source projects. Registration is open now and closes May 31st.