How Open Source helps me create positive impact
I had my first encounter with open source tech when I was completing the final year of my engineering degree at university. As part of the curriculum, I had to build a complete project using Arduino, an open source hardware platform which runs on a Java/C++ like programming interface. I had never worked with this type of platform before but I ended up finishing my project well before the deadline because the Arduino programming interface was not only thoroughly documented but was also supported by a thriving community of open source enthusiasts.
Using Arduino, I built an electronic toll clearance(ETC) system, which deducted toll from a vehicle owner’s bank account, sent a receipt to the user’s mobile phone and displayed the total toll collected by the system on a website. I faced several issues while linking up the different hardware components like the weight sensor, RFID sensor and network interface board with Arduino. However, the open source community was very helpful and I had my questions and concerns answered in no time! Unfortunately, once I completed my undergraduate degree, my time with open source got cut short because I decided to join a traditional financial services company.
What I didn’t know then is that I would soon interact with the open source community many more times.
In the spring of 2016 when I was finishing grad school, I discovered Google Summer of Code(GSOC), Google’s worldwide program to mentor and train students on using open source technology to create real world projects with open source organisations. This was my chance to re enter the world of open source tech and I decided to apply for this program. In that year, there were around 178 participating organizations. It was quite overwhelming at first but eventually I decided to work with The Mifos Initiative. The Mifos Initiative is an open source organisation striving for financial inclusion through open tech solutions. Their slogan “eradicating poverty one line at a time” particularly struck me. It made me curious about how open source can be used for poverty alleviation and being part of such a committed vision was a big motivating force.
After having a brief look at the Mifos Initiative’s projects and their expectation from the incoming interns, I thought it was a perfect match for me as the requirements were aligned to my skills. In my previous job, the job function did not leverage my coding skills. However, at Mifos Initiative, I was tasked to develop a fully-fledged module using the Java Spring Framework and was also required to develop front end support, harnessing the powerful capabilities of AngularJS. I was working on two projects for the Mifos community: MifosX, the opensource core banking platform (now known as Apache Fineract), and the Mifos Community App, the front end application used to interact with the core banking platform.
My project for GSOC 2016 was to develop support for credit bureau inquiries from within the Mifos platform. Any doubts I had at that point about my ability to work with open source at an organisational level were silenced by the Mifos open source community, which is a collection of generous and open minded people from all over the world ready to guide newbies about open source and its practical implementations. My lack of knowledge fazed no one; the community was patient and persevering in answering all my questions and helping me figure out how open source works. I engaged in discussions with members from different parts of the world and learnt not just about open source but also about diverse cultures and how to collaborate across geographies. In hindsight, this internship at GSOC 2016 proved pivotal for my career, and I was successfully able to complete my assigned projects with the assistance of my mentor and the community.
Just when I was beginning to think that my journey into open source was complete, I got re-selected for the GSOC 2017, this time by Apache Software Foundation’s Fineract Community. MifosX was now know as Apache Fineract and its development and maintenance was overseen by the Apache Fineract community. It was while completing my project modules for this internship that I got to interact with iDT Labs. With all the expert guidance from Salton Massally, CTO at iDT labs and Francis Guchie, Microfinance Lead at iDT labs, I was able to complete Group Loan Individual Monitoring and Group Savings Individual Monitoring Modules, which now enable individual contributions in group loan and group savings products, in just about a month’s time. (In the true spirit of the generous open source community, iDT labs contributed these modules to the Fineract project.)
What started out as a minor interest in open source has turned into a lifelong passion. In just a year and a half my involvement with the open source community has made me a better engineer (and even a better person). The generosity of the open source community and the network of expert global mentors has played a huge part in transitioning my amateur outlook to deeper knowledge and respect for open source tech. To all the computer science students reading this, I personally recommend them to contribute to open source projects if they want to gain practical experience outside of the academic arena and rigorously test their skills. By contributing to open source, students are also working towards creating positive impact for communities around the world, which can be a source of immense satisfaction and pride both professionally and personally.
