[Gsoc-orga] GSoC Interest - Modernize the 3D Depository

[Tobias Knerr]

Dear Cynthia,

as a first step, your attention needs to be focused on submitting your 
application on the GSoC website in time for the deadline. This is a 
strict requirement enforced by Google.

As mentioned on the project ideas page, we also expect you to set up a 
local copy of the existing code base on your own. Aside from 
demonstrating your ability to work without close supervision, this would 
help you discover additional possibilities for improving the code base 
and give you a more realistic idea of what it would take to implement 
them. Therefore, this should ideally have been done *prior* to 
submitting your application, but of course that's not realistic at this 
point.

As a rule, we additionally ask applicants for small code contributions 
as an opportunity to show their skills. One way to do this would be to 
write one simple test for the code base and send it in together with the 
explanation what it tests and why you chose to test what you did. Like 
the task of setting up the project locally, this should ideally have 
been done before the application deadline. As long as this task has been 
completed by the time we perform our internal evaluation of 
applications, we *may* still consider an application which is otherwise 
of very high quality. (Maybe. I haven't discussed this with the rest of 
the org yet. It's certainly not ideal and we do have a lot of interest 
this year.)

I've also included Sarah Hoffmann in CC. The two of us will be mentors 
for this project, and while I specialize in 3D, she's the main expert 
for Python and Django issues. Ideally, you can just send future emails 
to both of us and omit gsoc-orga.

Yours,

Tobias


On 08.04.25 at 15:00, Cynthia Niaz wrote:
> Dear OSM GSoC Team,
> 
> My name is Cynthia Niaz, and I’m a sophomore at Carleton College 
> studying Physics and Computer Science. I’m writing to express my 
> interest in the GSoC 2025 project “Modernize the 3D Model Repository.”
> 
> I previously led a long-term project where I used OpenStreetMap data to 
> create a 3D model of Minneapolis using tools like OpenStreetMap, 
> SketchUp, and Fusion 360. That experience, along with my coursework in 
> Data Structures and recent web development work, has made me especially 
> excited about contributing to the 3DMR project.
> 
> I’m currently in the process of setting up a local copy of the 3DMR 
> codebase, and I’m reviewing how the current system handles model uploads 
> and linking with OSM data. I’m comfortable with Python, and I’m getting 
> up to speed on Django and glTF.
> 
> I’d love to hear any guidance you might have about where I should focus 
> my attention as I prepare my application. Are there any priority areas 
> or open issues in the codebase you’d recommend I explore?
> 
> Looking forward to contributing and learning more about the project!
> 
> Best regards,
> Cynthia Niaz
>