The Rust Project has built a strong tradition of fostering new contributors through open-source mentorship programs. Having participated in Google Summer of Code (GSoC) for three years—including the current cycle—and previously in OSPP, the Rust team is now broadening its outreach. We are thrilled to announce that Rust will join Outreachy starting with the May 2026 cohort.
Understanding Outreachy and Its Unique Approach
Outreachy is a program designed to provide paid internships in open source to people from groups that are underrepresented, systemically biased against, or discriminated against in the technology industry. While it shares some similarities with GSoC, several key distinctions set it apart.
Eligibility and Focus
Outreachy's eligibility criteria are specifically targeted at individuals facing underrepresentation or systemic bias in their local tech communities. This focus on inclusivity ensures that opportunities reach those who might otherwise be excluded from open-source contributions.
Application Process vs. Google Summer of Code
In GSoC, contributors first apply to the overall program, then to specific projects, and often make optional contributions before applying. In contrast, Outreachy requires a dedicated contribution phase where applicants must actively engage with the community before they can submit a final application. After that, both programs share a similar selection process: applicants submit proposals, and communities choose interns based on those proposals and the quality of their contributions.
Stipend Funding Differences
A major operational difference lies in how stipends are handled. For GSoC, Google generously covers all contributor stipends and administrative overhead. For Outreachy, participating communities themselves are responsible for funding their interns' stipends and associated program costs. The Rust Project has taken on this responsibility to support the four interns selected for the May 2026 cohort.
Rust's Commitment to Inclusive Mentorship
Despite limited funding and mentoring capacity, the Rust Project has committed to mentoring four interns in the May 2026 Outreachy cohort. Below are the selected projects and their teams.
Calling Overloaded C++ Functions from Rust
Intern: Ajay Singh
Mentors: teor, Taylor Cramer, and Ethan Smith
This experimental project aims to enable Rust code to directly call overloaded C++ functions—a feature that currently requires cumbersome workarounds. The team will implement the feature and test it on representative use cases, laying the groundwork for deeper C++ interop in Rust.
Code Coverage of the Rust Compiler at Scale
Intern: Akintewe Oluwasola
Mentor: Jack Huey
This project will develop workflows to measure and analyze code coverage across the entire Rust compiler test suite, as well as on ecosystem crates detected by Rust's crater tool. The goal is to identify areas where the compiler is undertested—both internally and within the wider ecosystem—and to build continuous analysis tools for ongoing coverage assessment.
Fuzzing the a-mir-formality Type System Implementation
Intern: Tunde-Ajayi Olamiposi
Mentors: Niko Matsakis, Rémy Rakic, and tiif
This project focuses on implementing fuzzing for a-mir-formality, an evolving model of Rust's type and trait system. By generating random inputs, the fuzzer will help uncover edge cases and bugs in this specification, making Rust's type system more robust.
For more details on how Outreachy differs from other programs, jump back to the comparison section.