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Building a sustainable open source community: training and certifications

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Building a sustainable open source community: training and certifications

Training and professional certifications are an important part of how open source technologies establish themselves as industry-leading solutions and adopted in commercial ecosystems

Introduction

In an earlier piece, we discussed how, over the last 20 years, the Linux Foundation has grown from a single project, the Linux kernel, to an organization that has helped to convene and host hundreds of the world’s most important open source communities. 

The Linux Foundation’s support programs add value for our communities as they enable our projects to engage and grow a technology ecosystem worldwide.  

The Linux Foundation has over 1,600 member companies, representing 100% of the Fortune 100 tech and telecommunication firms, small businesses and startups, hundreds of end-user companies, and everything in between. It also has over 25,000 software developers contributing code, a shared investment that we estimate to be valued at $15.7B – and growing. Our hosted projects enable advancements in many technology areas and across many vertical industries, from security to networking, edge computing, cloud, automotive, blockchain, embedded systems, and web applications.

With the increased demand and adoption of open source technologies comes the desire for professionals with the skill sets to deploy, manage, and operate systems and support end-users. According to the Linux Foundation’s most recent Jobs Report, some key findings were revealed about open source employment opportunities:

Building a sustainable open source community: training and certifications

  • Hiring open source talent is a priority for 83% of hiring managers, a 7% increase from 76% in 2017. 
  • Hiring managers cited cloud (66%) as the technology most affecting their hiring decisions. Containers placed second at 57%, followed by security (49%) and networking (47%).
  • Finding the right mix of experience and skills is difficult for 87% of hiring managers. That included the 44% who rated it very difficult, a percentage that leaped from 34% in 2017.
  • Thirty percent of respondents working in open source technologies improved their ability to work on exciting projects, collaborate with a global community (19%), and work on the most cutting-edge technology challenges (16%). 

This report will be updated this autumn, and early indications show that these trends are accelerating given current market conditions.

The Linux Foundation provides a complete portfolio of support programs for training and certification, which align with the technologies that its communities develop. The support programs currently focus on eight primary domain areas:

  • Linux Internals
  • Open Source Developer Compliance
  • Systems Administration
  • Security 
  • Networking/Edge Computing
  • Cloud
  • Web Development
  • Blockchain

These programs are co-developed with the communities, and we add programs all the time as communities request support. 

Why training and certification are critical for open source communities

The Linux Foundation’s communities request support for training and certification because it creates a cadre of professionals that can implement solutions using their collaboratively developed technologies, with demonstrated expertise. Additionally, without trained and certified professionals, these technologies will face challenges achieving or scaling both industry adoption and commercial ecosystems supporting them. Having end-users adopt the technology, and commercial solution and support providers also provide a pipeline of future contributors back to the project’s codebase. As the open source technology is deployed, it gets tested, bugs are found, new features are requested, and all that feedback cycles its way into the upstream project, sustaining and making the project better for everyone dependent on its continued success.

For many open source projects, to gain adoption and generate a commercial support ecosystem, they will ultimately need to have training and certification programs. While this may sound similar to how other professional communities have matured and have become validated for developer and engineering certifications for commercial clouds and proprietary software systems, there are some important distinctions as to why a commitment to developing training and certification for open source technologies is critical to their long-term success.

The open source community works more organically and cyclically, which necessitates that a cadre of expertise is built for it not just to be deployed (as the commercial training and ecosystem have worked historically over the past 40 years) but also as part of its continuing development and for it and all of its participants to thrive. 

An open source software community develops software, and it gets deployed by professionals. Those professionals often eventually move on to different organizations and implement the same software. Those organizations will ultimately need more people to support deployments and write applications to extend and customize the software. These organizations also need system administration professionals and cloud providers to support solutions based on these open source software systems.

Why should communities create training and certification programs with the Linux Foundation? 

Straight from the source, and integrated into how communities are built and run. As the home of Linux and other major open source technologies, nobody is closer to these projects than The Linux Foundation itself — its training programs are uniquely integrated with our communities and projects. We understand how to align instruction with a community development model. Training is one of the support pillars that also enable the developers and engineers to focus on the open source project’s development and leave educating users and implementers of the code to the Linux Foundation’s training team. 

Accelerating community growth through free training. Thanks to our members’ support of the Linux Foundation and its projects, we are often able to provide free training courses from our communities. Free training is one of the fastest ways to bring more people into our open source communities as they learn, test, deploy and support solutions based on the open source technology, as they usually come back to offer suggestions, feedback, and fixes.

Vendor-neutral courseware. The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit organization and does not promote any particular commercial product, solution, or service.

Excess funds received go back to the project community. Although the Linux Foundation keeps pricing affordable and frequently offers further discounts, the overall program does generate a surplus. Since we are a nonprofit, the surplus is invested back into the open source community in a variety of ways: we provide scholarships to deserving individuals to become trained and certified at no cost, and the Foundation supports projects that are important to the world but do not receive individual or corporate financial support. Surplus funding is also used for linux.com as well as other digital assets and key initiatives such as CommunityBridge. 

Up-to-date Curriculum. Linux Foundation courses are current with the most recent version of the software or technology. As the host of many of the most critical open source projects that are continually changing, the Linux Foundation is in an excellent position to find experts and ensure the materials are maintained and updated alongside the project’s evolution. Additionally, enrolled students receive access to the latest course versions at no additional cost.

Current and cutting-edge technologies. The Linux Foundation hosts the fastest-growing and most influential open source projects and is the first to release courses about them. 

Expert instruction. The Linux Foundation’s courses are created and taught by some of the top developers and practitioners in open source, with decades of collective open source experience behind their belts and a deep familiarity with our open source communities.

Relevant material. The Linux Foundation’s courses are created using feedback from its massive community of open source practitioners and companies. Students can be confident that the topics they are learning are applicable in today’s business environment. Companies and organizations can integrate certifications in their hiring search and evaluations to find professionals with qualified skills.

Conclusion

With the most popular open source projects receiving upwards of 90% of their code from commercial companies, they are continually seeking trained people with the skills to deploy, support, and operate the open source technology. With Linux Foundation training, in most cases being free to access, our communities can efficiently train a vast ecosystem of people with skills companies are seeking to employ. The online delivery of our courses also makes our training accessible to people from low-income regions around the world, where access to training can provide a considerable boost to their career prospects.

Enterprises especially value certifications as evidence that employees are qualified and have demonstrated their expertise in a particular technology. Enterprises also want to train their existing employees on new technologies in an organized, efficient manner, which professional training courses can provide.

Offering training and certification is one of the best ways to scale any growing open source project community. For a project to continue growing and get more contributors involved, the community will need individuals to be able to gain an understanding of the project in a relatively quick and straightforward way. Our organized training curriculum was designed to fill this expertise gap.

The Linux Foundation’s training and certification offerings, combined with its community-organized events, provides a well rounded and neutral path to build skills and enable people to contribute back to its projects, sustaining their efforts into the future.

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Key Resources for Effective, Professional Open Source Management

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The Linux Foundation offers an abundance of resources to help you achieve success with open source.

At organizations everywhere, managing the use of open source software well requires the participation of business executives, the legal team, software architecture, software development and maintenance staff and product managers. One of the most significant challenges is integrating all of these functions with their very different points of view into a coherent and efficient set of practices.

More than ever, it makes sense to investigate the many free and inexpensive resources for open source management that are available, and observe the practices of professional open source offices that have been launched within companies ranging from Microsoft to Oath to Red Hat.

Fundamentals

The Linux Foundation’s Fundamentals of Professional Open Source Management (LFC210) course is a good place to start. The course is explicitly designed to help individuals in disparate organizational roles understand the best practices for success.

The course is organized around the key phases of developing a professional open source management program:

  • Open Source Software and Open Source Management Basics
  • Open Source Management Strategy
  • Open Source Policy
  • Open Source Processes
  • Open Source Management Program Implementation

Best Practices

The Linux Foundation also offers a free ebook on open source management: Enterprise Open Source: A Practical Introduction. The 45-page ebook can teach you how to accelerate your company’s open source efforts, based on the experience of hundreds of companies spanning more than two decades of professional enterprise open source management. The ebook covers:

  • Why use open source
  • Various open source business models
  • How to develop your own open source strategy
  • Important open source workflow practices
  • Tools and integration

Official open source programs play an increasingly significant role in how DevOps and open source best practices are adopted by organizations, according to a survey conducted by The New Stack and The Linux Foundation (via the TODO Group). More than half of respondents to the survey (53 percent) across many industries said their organization has an open source software program or has plans to establish one.

“More than anything, open source programs are responsible for fostering open source culture,” the survey’s authors have reported. “By creating an open source culture, companies with open source programs see the benefits we’ve previously reported, including increased speed and agility in the development cycle, better license compliance and more awareness of which open source projects a company’s products depend on.”

Free Guides

How can your organization professionally create and manage a successful open source program, with proper policies and a strong organizational structure? The Linux Foundation offers a complete guide to the process, available here for free. The guide covers an array of topics for open source offices including: roles and responsibilities, corporate structures, elements of an open source management program, how to choose and hire an open source program manager, and more.

The free guide also features contributions from open source leaders. “The open source program office is an essential part of any modern company with a reasonably ambitious plan to influence various sectors of software ecosystems,” notes John Mark Walker, Founder of the Open Source Entrepreneur Network (OSEN) in the guide. “If a company wants to increase its influence, clarify its open source messaging, maximize the clout of its projects, or increase the efficiency of its product development, a multifaceted approach to open source programs is essential.”  

Interested in even more on professional open source management? Don’t miss The Linux Foundation’s other free guides, which delve into tools for open source management, how to measure the success of an open source program, and much more.

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Open Source Skills Soar In Demand According to 2018 Jobs Report

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2018 OS Jobs Report

The latest Open Source Jobs Report shows a strong market for open source talent, driven in part by the rapid growth of cloud technologies.

Linux expertise is again in the top spot as the most sought after open source skill, says the latest Open Source Jobs Report from Dice and The Linux Foundation. The seventh annual report shows rapidly growing demand for open source skills, particularly in areas of cloud technology.

Key findings of the report include:

  • Linux tops the list as the most in-demand open source skill, making it mandatory for most entry-level open source careers. This is due in part to the growth of cloud and container technologies, as well as DevOps practices, all of which are typically built on Linux.
  • Container technology is rapidly growing in popularity and importance, with 57% of hiring managers seeking those skills, up from 27% last year.
  • Hiring open source talent is a priority for 83% of hiring managers, up from 76% in 2017.
  • Hiring managers are increasingly opting to train existing employees on new open source technologies and help them gain certifications.
  • Many organizations are getting involved in open source with the express purpose of attracting developers.

Career Building

In terms of job seeking and job hiring, the report shows high demand for open source skills and a strong career benefit from open source experience.

  • 87% of open source professionals say knowing open source has advanced their career.
  • 87% of hiring managers experience difficulties in recruiting open source talent.

Hiring managers say they are specifically looking to recruit in the following areas:

OS Jobs skillsDiversity

This year’s survey included optional questions about companies’ initiatives to increase diversity in open source hiring, which has become a hot topic throughout the tech industry. The responses showed a significant difference between the views of hiring managers and those of open source pros — with only 52% of employees seeing those diversity efforts as effective compared with 70% of employers.

Overall, the 2018 Open Source Jobs Report indicates a strong market for open source talent, driven in part by the growth of cloud-based technologies. This market provides a wealth of opportunities for professionals with open source skills, as companies increasingly recognize the value of open source.

The 2018 Open Source Jobs Survey and Report, sponsored by Dice and The Linux Foundation, provides an overview of the latest trends for open source careers. Download the complete Open Source Jobs Report now.

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Raising More than Capital: Successful Women in Technology

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women in technology

Successful women in technology raise more than capital. They raise awareness, they raise the bar, and they raise their voices.

One of my employees chooses a word at the beginning of each year to guide her personal and professional development efforts. Last year the word she selected was “Rise.” She told me it inspired her to elevate not only her skills, but the quality of her relationships, her attitude toward life and her self-confidence. As a female entrepreneur and the CEO of a growing global software company, our conversation led me to reflect on how successful women in technology rise above our challenges.

Raising Awareness

Deb Noller

Deb Noller, CEO and Co-Founder of Switch Automation and EdgeX Foundry member

Research highlights the plethora of internal and external hurdles female technology entrepreneurs face, including limited access to funding, lack of advisors and mentors, sexism and harassment, social expectations, balancing personal and professional responsibility, downplaying our worth and of course, fear of failure. With such a gender gap to overcome, it’s no surprise that in 2017 only 17% of startups had a female founder, a number which has failed to increase in the last five years.

That’s a sobering statistic considering women-led companies perform three times better than their male-led counterparts. Even with compelling research to prove that female leaders drive unprecedented success and higher returns for shareholders, we’re still underrepresented in the industry.

So, how do we reap the rewards of successful entrepreneurship? The answer is raising awareness of our value through increased visibility. Visibility within our networks, visibility of our capabilities (both technical and leadership), and visibility of our triumphs.

Raising the Bar

Fortunately, we’re making progress every day toward building an ecosystem of empowerment. Female entrepreneurs drive more than $3 trillion and 23 million jobs in the U.S. alone. Organizations like Dell are blazing a trail by sponsoring female-centric research studies to showcase not only the value of female entrepreneurs, but the cities where they can thrive.

Initiatives around the world are inspiring women and girls to pursue STEM careers, with events like Galaxy Convention and Women in STEM. And, while mentoring young women remains critical to filling the pipeline of future leaders, research affirms we must continue to support women already in the field who are facing gender stereotypes.

At Switch, we value leading by example and participate in communities like Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN), Springboard Enterprises, Rare Birds, Heads Over Heels, SheStarts, and others.

Raising our Voices

As women in technology become increasingly visible figures in our cultural landscape, they serve as a guiding light for would-be entrepreneurs. By authoring books, launching founders groups, mentoring one another and establishing a presence at tech events, we’re better equipped than ever to raise our collective and individual profiles.

Each of us can contribute to this effort. At Switch Automation, we take a diverse and inclusive approach to building the best team. Currently, 50 percent of our leadership team is female and women represent nearly 40 percent of our company. You’ll find them in in software development, QA, graphic design, engineering, marketing, finance, data science, and product roles.

Successful female technology entrepreneurs raise more than capital.

They raise awareness, they raise the bar, and they raise their voices. But, most importantly, they raise each other and future generations. As we continue to lift one another up, gain traction and celebrate our successes we’re carving out a legacy that doesn’t just benefit individuals, but improves the way we do business on a global scale.

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Secrets of Writing Good Documentation

documentation

At the upcoming APIStrat conference in Portland, Taylor Barnett will explore various documentation design principles and discuss best practices.

Taylor Barnett, a Community Engineer at Keen IO, says practice and constant iteration are key to writing good documentation.  At the upcoming API Strategy & Practice Conference 2017, Oct. 31 -Nov. 2 in Portland, OR, Barnett will explain the different types of docs and describe some best practices.

In her talk — Things I Wish People Told Me About Writing Docs — Barnett will look at how people consume documentation and discuss tools and tactics to enable other team members to write documentation.  Barnett explains more in this edited interview.

The Linux Foundation: What led you to this talk? Have you encountered projects with bad documentation?

Taylor Barnett: For the last year, my teammate, Maggie Jan, and I have been leading work to improve the developer content and documentation experience at Keen IO. It’s no secret that developers love excellent documentation, but many API companies aren’t always equipped with the resources to make that happen. As a result of this, we all come across a lot of bad documentation when you are trying to use developer tools and APIs.

The Linux Foundation: Often, there is a team of documentation writers and there are developers who wrote that piece of software; both are experts in their own fields, but they need a lot of collaboration to create usable docs. How can that collaboration be improved?

Barnett: In large companies, this can definitely be true, although in many companies documentation is still owned by various teams. The need for more collaboration still applies, though. One way to improve collaboration is bringing docs into the product development process early on. If you wait until everything is done and going to be released soon, people writing documentation are going to feel left out of the process and like an afterthought. If people working on the product development collaborate early on, not only does the product become better, but so does the documentation. People who are writing documentation usually spend some time figuring out the API or tool they are writing about, so they only get better when they can work with the people doing product development early on. Also, they can give great feedback from a user’s perspective much earlier in the process.

Another way to improve collaboration is to bring more people into the documentation review process. We do most of our documentation reviews in GitHub. It’s great to not only have someone in the role of an editor review it but also people from the Engineering or Product teams. It increases the number of eyes on the docs and helps make them better.

The Linux Foundation: How should developers approach documentation?

Barnett: Most developers are pretty familiar with the idea of Test Driven Development (TDD), but how familiar are they with Documentation Driven Development (DDD)? The flow for DDD is:

  1. Write or update documentation,
  2. Get feedback on that documentation,
  3. Write a failing test according to that documentation (TDD),
  4. Write code to pass the failing test,
  5. Repeat.

It can be an excellent way for developers to save a lot of time and prevent spending too much time on poorly designed features. As Isaac Schlueter, co-founder of npm, says about Documentation Driven Development, writing clear prose is an “effective way to increase productivity by reducing both the frequency and cost of mistakes.” Our brains can only hold so much information at once. In computer terms, our working memory size is pretty small. Writing down some of the information we are thinking about is a way to “off-load significant chunks of thought with hardly any data-loss,” while allowing us to think slower and more carefully.

For example: At Keen IO, we recently split our JavaScript library into three different modules. This decision was inspired by the documentation we were maintaining. We had tried to streamline the docs, but there was just too much to cover in an attention-constrained world. Many important details and features were hidden in the noise. For example, if all of the documentation was written sooner, we may have made this decision sooner.

Also, as a developer who is writing docs myself, constant iteration and practice are important. Your first version of the docs aren’t going to be great, but with focusing on trying to write clear prose, they will get better with time. Also, having another person who is not familiar with the product and can step through the documentation to review it is essential.

The Linux Foundation: If developers are writing documentation for other developers, how can they really think as the users?

Barnett: I used to think that developers are the best people to write docs for other developers because they are one of them. While I still believe this is partially true, some developers also assume a lot of knowledge. If it has been a while since a developer has done something, the “curse of knowledge” can exist. The more you know, the more you forget what it was like before. That’s why I like to talk about empathic documentation.

You need to empathize with the user on the other end. Don’t assume they know how to do something and give resources to fill in the steps that might seem “easy” to you. Also, hearing that something is “easy” or “simple” when something is not working on the user’s’ end is the worst feeling. It makes your users doubt themselves, feel frustrated, and a bunch of other negative emotions. Always try to remember you need to be empathetic!

The Linux Foundation: What’s the importance of tools in creating documentation?

Barnett: Very important! Earlier I mentioned using GitHub for reviews. I also would recommend having some continuous integration testing in place for your documentation site if you aren’t using a service like ReadMe or Apiary to make sure you don’t break it. A related topic is, do you build your own thing or use a service? Tools can be helpful, but they might not always be the best fit. You have to find a balance based on your current resources. Lastly, I would recommend checking out Anne Gentle’s book, Docs Like Code. She brings up tools a lot in the book.

The Linux Foundation: Who should attend your session?

Barnett: Everyone! Just kidding (kind of). If you are in any role that is developer facing like developer relations, evangelists, advocates, marketers, etc., if you are on a Product team for a developer focused product or platform, or if you are a developer or engineer who wants to write better docs.

The Linux Foundation: What is the main takeaway from your talk?

Barnett: Anyone can write docs, but with some practice, iteration, and working on different documentation writing skills anyone can write better docs.

Learn more in Taylor Barnett’s talk at the APIStrat conference coming up Oct. 31 – Nov. 2 in Portland, Oregon.

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Watch Ben Hindman, Rich Bowen, Katharina Probst Live at MesosCon Europe

MesosCon

Sign up for free live video streaming of all keynote sessions at MesosCon Europe.

Can’t make it to MesosCon Europe in Prague this week? The Linux Foundation is pleased to offer free live video streaming of all keynote sessions on Thursday, Oct 26 and Friday, Oct 27, 2017.

MesosCon is an annual conference organized by the Apache Mesos community, bringing together users and developers to share and learn about the project and its growing ecosystem. Users, developers, experts, and community members will convene next week.

Apache Software Foundation, Mesosphere, and Netflix are among the many organizations that will keynote next week.

The livestream will begin on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 9 a.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time). Sign up now! You can also follow our live event updates on Twitter with #MesosCon.

All keynotes will be broadcasted live, including a welcome and opening remarks by Ben Hindman, Co-Creator, Apache Mesos and Founder, Mesosphere.

Other featured keynotes include:

  • Rich Bowen, VP Conferences, Apache Software Foundation will analyze The Apache Way.
  • Katharina Probst, Netflix will talk about making and keeping Netflix highly available.
  • SMACK in the enterprise panel.
  • Pierre Cheynier, Operations Engineer, Criteo will discuss operating 600+ Mesos servers on 7 data centers.
  • And more.

View the full schedule of keynotes.

Sign up now for the free live video stream.

Once you sign up, you’ll be able to view the livestream on the same page. If you sign up prior to the livestream day/time, simply return to this page and you’ll be able to view.

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Watch Keila Banks, Mitchell Hashimoto, and Jan Kizska Live at Open Source Summit Europe

 

Open Source Summit livestream

The Linux Foundation is pleased to offer free live video streaming of all keynote sessions at Open Source Summit and Embedded Linux Conference Europe, Oct. 23 to Oct. 25, 2017.

Join 2000 technologists and community members next week as they convene at Open Source Summit Europe and Embedded Linux Conference Europe in Prague. If you can’t be there in person, you can still take part, as The Linux Foundation is pleased to offer free live video streaming of all keynote sessions on Monday, Oct. 23 through Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017.  So, you can watch the event keynotes presented by Google, Intel, and VMware, among others.

The livestream will begin on Monday, Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time). Sign up now! You can also follow our live event updates on Twitter with #OSSummit.

All keynotes will be broadcasted live, including talks by Keila Banks, 15-year-old Programmer, Web Designer, and Technologist with her father Philip Banks; Mitchell Hashimoto, Founder, HashiCorp Founder of HashiCorp and Creator of Vagrant, Packer, Serf, Consul, Terraform, Vault and Nomad; Jan Kizska, Senior Key Expert, Siemens AG; Dirk Hohndel, VP & Chief Open Source Officer, VMware in a Conversation with Linux and Git Creator Linus Torvalds; Michael Dolan, Vice President of Strategic Programs & The Linux Foundation; and Jono Bacon, Community/Developer Strategy Consultant and Author.

Other featured conference keynotes include:

  • Neha Narkhede — Co-Founder & CTO of Confluent will discuss Apache Kafka and the Rise of the Streaming Platform
  • Reuben Paul — 11-year-old Hacker, CyberShaolin Founder and cybersecurity ambassador will talk about how Hacking is Child’s Play
  • Arpit Joshipura — General Manager, Networking, The Linux Foundation who will discuss Open Source Networking and a Vision of Fully Automated Networks
  • Imad Sousou — Vice President and General Manager, Software & Services Group, Intel
  • Sarah Novotny — Head of Open Source Strategy for GCP, Google
  • And more

View the full schedule of keynotes.

And sign up now for the free live video stream.

Once you sign up to watch the event keynotes, you’ll be able to view the livestream on the same page. If you sign up prior to the livestream day/time, simply return to this page and you’ll be able to view.

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Introducing The Linux Foundation’s Open Source Networking Days

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One of my primary goals at The Linux Foundation is to foster innovation across the entire open source networking ecosystem. This involves coordinating across multiple open source projects and initiatives and identifying key areas for collaboration to create an open source networking stack.

We are working across the entire ecosystem with industry-leading partners — from developers to service providers to vendors — to unify various open source components and create solutions that will accelerate network transformation. As part of this journey, I am pleased to introduce Open Source Networking Days (OSN Days), a series of free events that are hosted and organized by local user groups and The Linux Foundation members, with support from our projects, including DPDK, FD.io, ONAP, OpenDaylight, OPNFV, PNDA, and others.

OSN Days are a fantastic opportunity for network developers and users to learn how ONAP, OPNFV, OpenDaylight  and other open source initiatives are changing NFV/SDN orchestration and networking solutions. Stops on the tour include: Paris, Milan, Stockholm, London, Tel Aviv, and Japan. Register today for an upcoming OSN Day in your region.

The day-long events will start with a plenary session where attendees will hear from site hosts and The Linux Foundation speakers on the state of the industry and the collaboration and touch points between projects that make up the open source networking stack. Presenters will also explore how business opportunities like 5G and IoT are enabled by network transformation.  In the afternoon, events may feature technical sessions, tutorials, demonstrations, and workshops that empower attendees to participate, contribute, and deepen their knowledge of open source networking.

Our first OSN Day kicks off October 9 in Paris, followed by stops in Milan (October 12), Stockholm (October 13), London (October 16), Tel Aviv (October 19), and Japan (October 19). Thanks to our incredible site hosts and sponsors Amdocs, ATOS, Cloudify, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, Orange, Red Hat, SUSE, and Vodafone, along with our high-caliber roster of speakers, for helping to make these OSN Days a reality!

More details about the events, including site-specific agendas, registration info, and details on hotel and travel, can be found here: https://sites.google.com/linuxfoundation.org/osndays/home. If you have any questions, or would like to host an event yourself in the future, please email OSNDays@linuxfoundation.org.

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OS Summit Europe Keynotes Feature Jono Bacon, Keila Banks, and a Q&A with Linus Torvalds

Open Source Summit Europe is not far away! This year’s event — held Oct. 23-26 in Prague, Czech Republic — will feature a wide array of speakers, including open source community expert Jono Bacon, 11-year-old hacker Reuben Paul, and Linux creator Linus Torvalds.

At OS Summit Europe, you will have the opportunity to collaborate, share, learn, and connect with 2,000 technologists and community members, through keynote presentations, technical talks, and many other event activities.  

Confirmed keynote speakers for OS Summit Europe include:

  • Jono Bacon, Community/Developer Strategy Consultant and Author

  • Keila Banks, 15-year-old Programmer, Web Designer and Technologist, with her father Phillip Banks

  • Mitchell Hashimoto, Founder of HashiCorp and Creator of Vagrant, Packer, Serf, Consul, Terraform, Vault, and Nomad

  • Neha Narkhede, Co-founder & CTO, Confluent

  • Sarah Novotny, Program Manager, Kubernetes Community, Google

  • Reuben Paul, 11-year-old Hacker, CyberShaolin Founder and Cyber Security Ambassador

  • Imad Sousou, VP, Software Services Group & GM, Open Source Technology Center, Intel Corporation

  • Linus Torvalds, Creator of Linux and Git in conversation with Dirk Hohndel, VP, Chief Open Source Officer, VMware

  • Jim Zemlin, Executive Director, The Linux Foundation

The full schedule will be published in the next few weeks, and applications are now being accepted for diversity and needs-based scholarships.

Registration is discounted to $800 through August 27, and academic and hobbyist rates are also available. Linux.com readers receive an additional $40 off with code LINUXRD5. Register Now!

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Activities for All at OS Summit in Los Angeles: Mentoring, Yoga, Puppies, and More!

Open Source Summit North America is less than two months away! Join 2,000+ open source professionals Sept. 11-14 in Los Angeles, CA, for exciting keynotes and technical talks covering all things Linux, cloud, containers, networking, emerging open source technologies, and more.

Register now!

With your registration, you also get access to many special events throughout the four-day conference. Special events include:

  • New Speed Networking Workshop: Looking to grow your technical skills, get more involved in an open source community, or make a job change? This networking and mentoring session taking place Monday, Sept. 11 is for you!

  • New Recruiting Program: Considering a career move or a job change? This year we are making it easier than ever for attendees to connect with companies looking for new candidates.

  • Evening Events: Join fellow attendees for conversation, collaboration and fun at numerous evening events including the attendee reception at Paramount Studios featuring studio tours, live music, and dinner from LA favorites In-N-Out, Coolhaus, Pink’s and more!

  • Women in Open Source Lunch: All women attendees are invited to connect at this networking lunch, sponsored by Intel, on Monday, Sept. 11.

  • Dan Lyons Book Signing: Attendees will have the opportunity to meet author Dan Lyons on Tuesday, Sept. 12. The first 100 attendees will receive a free signed copy of his book Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble.

  • Thursday Summits & Tutorials: Plan to stay on September 14, to attend the Diversity Empowerment Summit (Hosted by HPE & Intel), Networking Mini-Summit or deep-dive tutorials – all included in your OSS NA registration!

  • New Executive Track: Full details coming soon on this special event, hosted by IBM, taking place Tuesday, Sept. 12.

  • Morning Activities for Attendees: Morning meditation, a 5K fun run, and a downtown Los Angeles sightseeing bus tour.

Check back for updates on even more activities, including our Attendee Partner Program, Kids Day (an opportunity for kids to learn Scratch programming, in partnership with LA Makerspace), and Puppy Pawlooza (enjoy playtime with shelter dogs thanks to our partnership with LA Animal Rescue).

Linux.com readers receive an additional $47 off with code LINUXRD5. Register now »

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