ML Vibes & Data Disco: Grooving with Open Source via Bitbyte Summer of Code!
Probing BSoC 🔍
Hello, fellow tech enthusiasts! ^_^
I'm Dhruv Parmar, a student at PDPM IIITDMJ. I'm passionate about coding and love to explore the world of Open Source. Recently, I had an amazing experience with the Bitbyte Summer of Code. It's a platform that provides opportunities to explore Open Source through different domains. In this blog, I'll share my exciting journey of contributing to this cutting-edge project, Summer Analytics.
Unravelling the Open Source with BSoC!
It was my first time experiencing Open Source Contribution. Bitbyte Summer of Code helped me to navigate and get a better understanding of Open Source.
What is Open Source?
Open source refers to software or projects that have their source code openly available to the public. It allows anyone to view, use, modify, and distribute the code freely. This collaborative approach encourages developers worldwide to work together, share ideas, and contribute improvements to the software. Open source fosters a vibrant community where knowledge is shared, innovations are accelerated, and collective efforts lead to the creation of high-quality, accessible, and often free solutions for various applications.
Numerous open-source initiatives can be discovered on Git-based platforms such as GitHub, GitBucket, and GitLab. You can know about Open Source in detail from the above link ⬇️.
How do Open Source programmes work?
Open Source programs provide a fantastic opportunity for individuals to dive into the world of Open Source Contribution. These programs encourage aspiring developers to collaborate, contribute, and learn from experienced mentors and the wider community. One such prominent initiative is the Google Summer of Code. And there are many more but these are quite professional and not beginner-friendly enough ¬_¬.
So, for Open Souce newbies, our college's programming club organised a beginner-friendly programme, Bitbyte Summer of Code. Let us dive deeply to understand BSoC.
BSoC: The Journey
What is BSoC?
Bitbyte Summer of Code is a 10-week program that runs from May to July, conducted by BitByte - The programming club. You can visit BSoC's GitHub page here.
The main aim of this programme is to bring together students passionate about coding and provide them with a platform to learn, grow, and make a meaningful impact.
The following are the projects available in this programme:-
Summer Analytics
The Application Process:
The process for applying to this programme was simple, you need to visit the official website and apply for the desired project.
You can visit the website here.
I registered for the Summer Analytics project as I was intrigued to explore Data Science and Machine Learning domain. This programme allowed me to understand basic Machine Learning topics.
My Experience:
The tasks which were to be performed for Summer Analytics were divided into 5-6 weeks.
Week 0, that is, before starting with actual tasks based on Machine Learning, a task was assigned to have a prerequisite knowledge of Python.
After having sufficient familiarity with Python, the green light for the Week 1 task, which is to learn about Python libraries required for studying Machine Learning and Descriptive Statistics, was given.
Week 2 task was to learn about outlier analysis, Missing Value Treatment, Exploratory data analysis and the most basic machine learning model, Regression.
Week 3 task was to get to know about Bias and Variance, Regularization, SVMs, Encoding categorical values, Confusion Matrix and AUC-ROC Curve.
Week 4 task was to have an understanding of the Curse of Dimensionality, Correlation and Causation, Cross Validation, Decision Trees, Random Trees and Random Forests, KNN and kMeans Clustering.
The last, Week 5, was about the basics of Neural Networks and understanding SQL.
Throughout the programme, there were assignments assigned to us, graded and ungraded. These assignments were based on the topics which were to be learned in that respective week and were given in the form of a Google Collab file. Sometimes bonus assignments were also given to increase the enthusiasm among participants and to push the boundaries! After the assignments were completed, the quiz was taken for the respective week's topics.
My Contributions:
You can visit the GitHub repository by clicking on the screenshot
Rating Predictor:
Zodiac Luck Meter
Input from Mentors:
As it was a new experience for me to explore the domain of Data Science and Machine Learning, I was constantly guided by my mentor, Aryan Pandey sir. He helped me by solving my doubts on Discord and keep on suggesting new ways to learn and implement.
The entire team were very supportive and collaborative, which made my learning experience smoother.
Conclusion :
This programme gave me an amazing experience in Open Source Contribution. It gave me a headstart to know about various topics of Machine Learning through interesting and unique assignments. This programme is really helpful for rookies who are passionate about Open Source Contribution.
"The power of Open Source is the power of the people. The people rule." - Philippe Kahn
It was my first time experiencing Open Source and as the famous quote rightly puts it, together, we shape and create, breaking barriers and pushing boundaries. Joining forces with like-minded individuals, I find joy in contributing to projects that empower and uplift the tech world. Let's harness the power of open source and make a difference, united as one!
Thanks for reading my blog and you can start your own Open Souce Contribution journey.
If you have any queries, you can connect me on LinkedIn.