Introduction
The Rust Project has built a strong tradition of participating in open-source mentorship initiatives, including three years with Google Summer of Code and prior involvement with OSPP. This year, we are excited to announce our participation in Outreachy, starting with the May 2026 cohort. Outreachy offers internships to individuals from underrepresented or marginalized groups in tech, providing a unique pathway into open-source contributions.
What Makes Outreachy Different from Google Summer of Code?
While Outreachy shares similarities with Google Summer of Code (GSoC), key distinctions set it apart. Understanding these differences helps potential applicants choose the right program.
Application Process and Contribution Requirements
In GSoC, candidates often submit proposals with optional prior contributions. Outreachy, however, mandates a dedicated contribution period before applications. Applicants first apply to the overall Outreachy program, then select specific communities like Rust. Their contributions during this period are a critical part of the evaluation. Communities then select interns based on both the application and the quality of contributions. Outreachy runs two internship cycles annually: May–August and December–March.
Stipend and Funding Differences
Another major difference lies in funding. For GSoC, Google covers both stipends and program overhead. In contrast, participating communities—such as the Rust Project—are responsible for funding their interns' stipends and overhead under Outreachy. This reflects a community-driven investment in diversity and inclusion.
Rust's Participation and Selected Interns for May 2026
Due to limited funding and mentoring capacity, the Rust Project has selected four outstanding interns for the May 2026 cohort. Below are the projects and the teams behind them.
Calling Overloaded C++ Functions from Rust
Intern: Ajay Singh
Mentors: teor, Taylor Cramer, and Ethan Smith
This experimental project aims to enable seamless calling of overloaded C++ functions directly from Rust code. The initial phase will focus on implementing the feature and testing it in representative use cases, potentially bridging a significant gap in Rust's interoperability with C++.
Code Coverage of the Rust Compiler at Scale
Intern: Akintewe Oluwasola
Mentors: Jack Huey
To ensure the Rust compiler is thoroughly tested, this project develops workflows for running and analyzing code coverage across the entire compiler test suite and ecosystem crates (detected via Crater). The goal is to identify under-tested areas within the compiler and the broader ecosystem, and to build tools for continuous coverage analysis.
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 in-progress formal model for Rust's type and trait systems. By subjecting the implementation to random, unexpected inputs, the team aims to uncover bugs and edge cases, strengthening the correctness of Rust's core language features.
Conclusion
The Rust Project's participation in Outreachy reinforces its commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive community while advancing the language's technical capabilities. We look forward to the contributions these four interns will make, and we hope this program inspires more underrepresented individuals to join open source. For more details on Outreachy, visit their official website. Stay tuned for updates on our projects and future cohorts.