GSoC + AI/ML + Placement Prep: Full Roadmap (May 2025 - April 2026)
Target: Google Summer of Code 2026 + Strong AI/ML skills + Top placement readiness
Time Commitment: ~10 hours/week
Phase 1: Foundations & Skill Building (May - July 2025)
Goal: Build strong Python, AI/ML, and Git skills while starting open-source exposure
Week 1-4:
- Python Review: Lists, functions, OOP, file handling
- Libraries: Numpy, Pandas, Matplotlib
- Git & GitHub: Clone, Fork, PR, Issues, Branch
- ML Concepts: Supervised vs Unsupervised, Regression intro
- Resources:
- Google ML Crash Course
- Kaggle Titanic or Iris Dataset
- GitHub open-source starter issues
Week 5-8:
- Scikit-learn: Classification (KNN, Decision Tree)
- Clustering (KMeans)
- Practice mini-projects: Wine quality, Breast Cancer Dataset
- GitHub: Make your first PR in a data-related open-source repo
- DSA: Start solving basic problems on LeetCode (Array, String)
Phase 2: Open Source Contribution + AI/ML Projects (Aug - Nov 2025)
Goal: Build a track record of open-source contributions and polish ML foundations
Week 9-12:
- Pick 2 GSoC orgs (e.g., TensorFlow, MLPack, scikit-learn)
- Join their community chats, understand the codebase
- Contribute to docs or small bugs
- Learn: Feature engineering, model evaluation, cross-validation
- DSA: HashMap, Stack, Queue
Week 13-16:
- Start a side project using Scikit-learn (e.g., spam detector, recommender system)
- Contribute real code (not just docs) to your selected org
- Learn: Regularization, Bias-Variance, Model Tuning
- Resume: Create your tech resume and GitHub README
- DSA: Linked List, Two Pointer, Sliding Window
Phase 3: Deep ML + Contribution Expansion (Dec 2025 - Feb 2026)
Goal: Build confidence with ML + increase your contribution quality
Week 17-20:
- Learn advanced ML: Ensemble (Random Forest, XGBoost)
- Start using Jupyter Notebooks for all experiments
- Begin your GSoC proposal draft
- Build a GitHub project with EDA + ML pipeline
- DSA: Binary Search, Recursion
Week 21-24:
- Deep Learning intro: Neural networks, basics of PyTorch or TensorFlow
- Finalize side project and publish on GitHub
- Discuss proposal ideas with mentors
- DSA: Sorting, Prefix Sum, Backtracking
Phase 4: GSoC Prep + Placement Polishing (Mar - Apr 2026)
Goal: Submit GSoC proposal + be ready for placements
Week 25-28:
- Finalize and submit your GSoC proposal
- Write a blog on your open source + ML journey
- Practice behavioral and technical interview questions
- Leetcode Grind: Top 50 Interview Questions
- Mock Interviews: Use Pramp or peers
Week 29-32:
- Build portfolio website with GitHub Projects, Resume, Blog
- Apply for internships or remote research roles
- Maintain open source presence: continue PRs
- Revisit all major ML concepts + Kaggle competitions
- Prepare for online rounds and coding tests
Bonus Habits:
- Blog monthly: Your learning, open source updates
- Maintain public GitHub streak
- Connect with mentors, ask questions, stay consistent
Final Deliverables by April 2026:
- Strong GitHub Profile with ML + Open Source PRs
- GSoC Proposal submitted with actual contributions
- Resume with ML projects, contributions, DSA rating
- Portfolio website (optional but strong advantage)
- Fully prepared for internship/job interviews
