FOSS COMMUNITY OF MEC

FOSS CELL OF GOVERNMENT MODEL ENGINEERING COLLEGE IS A STUDENT-LED COMMUNITY, PROMOTING FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE AND FOSTERING A FREE OPEN SOURCE CULTURE AMONG OUR STUDENTS

<WHAT WE DO?>

FOSSMEC is the Free and Open Source Software Cell of Government Model Engineering College. The cell was formed to organize the college’s technical initiatives under a single, structured platform and to actively promote free open source culture. It brings together students passionate about technology to work on projects, contribute to global free open source communities, and explore real-world tools and workflows. Through workshops, hands-on sessions, and events, we encourage learning, collaboration, and contribution to the broader free open source ecosystem both within the college and beyond.

<WHAT ABOUT EVENTS?>

Our events focus on FOSS, featuring expert talks, practical workshops, and collaborative spaces for students and tech enthusiasts.

IndiaFOSS 4.0

Representatives from FOSSMEC actively participated in IndiaFOSS 4.0, a prestigious Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) conference held in Bangalore on September 7th and 8th, 2024. The event provided an excellent platform for FOSSMEC to showcase its initiatives and engage with the broader FOSS community.

Code-A-Pookalam

Code a Pookalam'24 was a collaborative event by FOSSMEC and TinkerHub MEC, focused on blending programming skills with Onam's creative spirit. Open to all colleges with a 6K prize pool, the event ran from September 16-21, 2024.

Build It Up

FOSSMEC hosted Build It Up on August 21–22 at CCF Hall, attracting 75 participants. Led by Joel K George (intern at ragas.io), the session guided attendees through building a full-stack web app using Next.js and Supabase. Designed for all skill levels, it offered hands-on learning in JavaScript and SQL with a focus on simplicity and engagement.

DebUtsav

DebUtsav 2024 adopted an unconference format, moving away from traditional talks and workshops. The event featured two tracks: a workshop on “Packaging in Debian: Footpaths to Being a Debian Maintainer” and hands-on contribution sprints, where groups of five collaborated with experienced Debian contributors to make direct contributions to the Debian project.

PravConf

FOSSMEC hosted PravApp's genesis conference at Govt. Model Engineering College on 1st and 2nd March, where speaker sessions and small contribution sprints were conducted, sessions mostly focused on privacy-focused messaging, the Fediverse, and the origins of Prav. In short PravConf was a gathering of users, developers and volunteers in the Prav cooperative aiming to free users from vendor lock-in and invasion of privacy.

Let's Git It

FOSSMEC conducted Let's Git It on February 5–6 at CCF Hall with 75 participants. Led by Lisa V Cherian (GitHub Campus Expert) and Karthik G Kumar (FOSSMEC Secretary), the session simplified Git and GitHub for all skill levels. Attendees explored version control through hands-on learning, including Git setup and GitHub account creation, gaining essential skills for collaborative coding.

Codeum Reparo

Codeum Reparo is a two-round coding competition that challenges participants to debug and optimize web-based solutions, conducted in collaboration with Excel 2024.