In February, we officially opened the May 2026 cohort for community signup and initial applications. This cohort started with a lot of anticipation from communities and applicants alike, who were very interested in when the round would start. There had already been quite a few inquiries, so once we opened, it felt like releasing something people had been waiting for.
One of my main tasks was reaching out to all past and prospective mentoring communities to let them know that community sign-ups were open. I made sure everyone had the updated information about timelines, expectations, and what participation would look like this round. As usual, this came with a steady stream of follow-up questions about funding, program changes, mentor responsibilities e.t.c. A lot of my time was spent making sure communities felt supported and clear on next steps.
I also worked on the website updates needed to officially announce the round. This included creating and publishing the announcement blog post and sending out the mailing list announcement so that the broader Outreachy community was informed.
Alongside the announcement, I updated our communication templates and documentation for communities to reflect our revised processes for this year. Since we made changes to aspects of the internship structure and expectations, it was important that all outward-facing communication matched those updates. This meant reviewing existing emails, adjusting language to avoid confusion, and ensuring that deadlines and requirements were accurately reflected across the board.
At the same time, the current internship round was still ongoing, so I continued supporting mentors through feedback reviews and regular communication on Zulip and email.
I’m excited to see the May 2026 cohort take shape in the coming months.
Tilda's Thoughts 