From Academia to Open Source: A Journey of Code, Collaboration, and Impact
If there’s one thing that defines the journey of a technologist, it is insatiable curiosity. Like most students, my academic path was paved with structured curricula, assignments, and exams. But something always felt missing — the thrill of tackling real-world challenges, the opportunity to collaborate beyond the walls of my university, and the ability to create something truly impactful.
That is until open source entered my life, not just as a side interest but as a gateway to an extraordinary world of learning, collaboration, and innovation.
My introduction to open source was accidental yet serendipitous. During my undergraduate years, I stumbled upon Google Summer of Code (GSoC), where I worked with FOSSology, an open-source license compliance tool maintained by Siemens Research Group. This experience unlocked a new perspective for me. I was no longer bound to theoretical exercises. Instead, I was navigating large, complex codebases and engaging with developers across continents. This was learning unlike anything a textbook could offer. The kind that comes from building, breaking, and fixing real software.
This realization ignited a passion in me. I returned for GSoC 2020, deepening my involvement in mentorship (guiding students each year as part of GSoC for FOSSology), and I became a steward for open-source contributions. I co-founded HypnOS, a technical community during my undergraduate years. I actively developed projects, participated in numerous hackathons, and worked on building real-world solutions addressing tangible problems.
Each contribution reinforced a powerful lesson: knowledge grows exponentially when shared, and nothing embodies this spirit like open source.
My Next Step into Open Source: The MLH Fellowship
The MLH Fellowship was a natural continuation of my open-source journey. Unlike a typical internship where projects are often isolated or internal, this experience brought me face-to-face with cutting-edge technologies at Meta, specifically AudioSeal, an open-source audio watermarking system. Here, I wasn’t just writing code, I was collaborating with some of the brightest research minds at Meta, experimenting with audio fingerprinting, adversarial attacks, and robust detection mechanisms.
Through Audiocraft, Dora, and PyTorch, I created custom training grids, ran extensive benchmarking, and helped refine the model’s robustness. But more than the technical depth, what stood out was the spirit of collaboration. As I worked alongside engineers from Meta, I saw firsthand how distributed teams build powerful, scalable solutions.
The beauty of open source is that it teaches you what academia often misses. You learn how to read complex code, debug in ways no classroom will prepare you for, and engage with a global community that is constantly innovating. You’re not just a student or an intern. You’re an active participant in building the future.
Beyond my technical contributions, the Fellowship nurtured my collaborative and leadership instincts. I networked with fellows working on different projects, gaining insight into how diverse yet community-driven the open-source world truly is. I reviewed PRs, guided discussions, and experienced the sheer joy of helping and being helped by others who were paving their open-source journeys. It wasn’t just about writing software. It was about building a culture of knowledge-sharing and empowerment.
The Launchpad of Open Source
As I look ahead, I see my path in responsible AI and NLP, particularly in ensuring ethical and accurate AI systems. My current research on “Hallucination Detection and Mitigation in LLMs for Healthcare” is a testament to this vision, addressing how AI-generated misinformation can be curbed for critical applications. My time in the MLH Fellowship accelerated my immersion into the fast-paced AI world, and the advice from my mentors at Meta has been instrumental in shaping my journey toward impactful research.
Beyond research and academia, I see open source as a lifelong commitment. I plan to pursue a PhD, where I hope to explore the intersection of NLP, AI ethics, and social impact applications with the same spirit of open collaboration that first drew me into this space.
To those considering dipping their toes into open source, my advice is simple: jump in. There is no perfect time, no perfect project, just an ocean of opportunities waiting for you to explore. Whether it’s fixing a small bug, contributing to documentation, or building your first feature, every step is a step toward mastery. The community welcomes you, mentors guide you, and before you know it, you become part of something bigger than yourself.
Open source changed my life, not just as a coder but as a thinker, a leader, and a lifelong learner. I hope it changes yours too.
