Sep 5 – 7, 2025
Asia/Kolkata timezone

From Zero to LFX: How Three Friends Cracked Open Source and Landed KubeEdge Mentorships

Sep 5, 2025, 4:50 PM
40m
Room 1: Plenary

Room 1: Plenary

Talk (40 min) Community

Speaker

Mr Abhishek Kumar
The Linux Foundation

Description

Three students, one shared dream, and countless late-night coding sessions - this is the story of how we transformed from complete open source newcomers to LFX Mentees at KubeEdge, one of the most exciting edge computing projects in the Kubernetes ecosystem.
Just months ago, we were typical computer science students with no idea how to contribute to open source projects. The world of GitHub issues, pull requests, and community discussions seemed intimidating and exclusive. But through collaboration, persistence, and a commitment to learning together, we not only overcame these barriers but all three of us secured prestigious LFX mentorships with KubeEdge.
In this talk, I'll share our authentic journey - the mistakes we made, the breakthroughs that changed everything, and the practical strategies that worked. You'll learn about our systematic approach to understanding complex projects like KubeEdge, how we built our technical skills while contributing meaningfully to the community, and most importantly, how supporting each other made all the difference.
We'll explore what KubeEdge is and why edge computing represents the future of distributed systems, but through the lens of newcomers discovering these concepts for the first time. I'll also break down the LFX mentorship application process, sharing the insider tips we learned and the common pitfalls to avoid.
Whether you're a student wondering how to make your first contribution, someone curious about edge computing and Kubernetes, or simply looking for motivation to start your open source journey, this talk will show you that with the right approach and community support, amazing opportunities are within reach.
By the end of this session, you'll have a clear roadmap for getting started in open source, understand what makes projects like KubeEdge special, and hopefully feel inspired to begin your own journey with friends by your side.

Session author's bio

Recently selected LFX Mentee at KubeEdge with a passion for edge computing and community building. Along with two close friends, discovered the power of collaborative learning in open source and wants to help others find their path into this amazing ecosystem. Currently working on Ianvs and excited to share lessons learned from the journey from complete beginner to mentee.

Any other info we should know?

Our story demonstrates that open source success doesn't have to be a solo journey. The collaborative approach we took not only helped us all succeed but also created lasting friendships and learning partnerships. We believe this message of "learning together" is especially important for the Indian tech community where collaboration and mutual support are strong cultural values.
We're also happy to do this as a panel discussion with all three mentees if that format would be more engaging for the audience.

Special accommodations

None required - standard presentation setup is perfect.

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Presentation materials