September was a busy month, with a lot of the work focused on getting the December 2026 cohort ready for the contribution stage. With community sign-ups underway, there was a mix of following up with communities, answering questions about the program, and making sure communities had the information they needed as they prepared for the round.
I continued reaching out to communities and helping with questions around project submissions and participation. I also had onboarding meetings with new communities, which was a good opportunity to walk them through the program and help them understand what to expect from the cohort. Alongside this, I continued supporting existing communities and mentors with the usual coordination work, helping address questions and keep things moving as we got closer to the contribution stage.
Another part of my work this month was reviewing initial applications. With the changes we have been making to the initial application process, it was also useful to be involved in this part of the round.
The AI usage guide for mentoring communities took a bit of a back seat this month as other work took priority. It is still something I want to make progress on, particularly as more communities are thinking about how AI is changing the contribution process and what that means for applicants, mentors, and the program as a whole.
Overall, September was largely about community support, application reviews, and getting things in place for the next stage of the cohort. With the contribution period approaching, there is still a lot to do, but it has been good to see communities getting involved and preparing for the round.
