The open-source society
of IIT Bhilai.
We build software the campus actually runs on, teach students how to make their first contribution, and help them go on to contribute anywhere. Everything we do is public, free to join, and open to any batch or branch.
62
Public repositories
on the OpenLake GitHub org
2020
Building since
Since 6 years
9
GSoC contributors
proposals accepted from the society.
50+
Workshops & programs
run on campus, free to attend
What actually happens here
Three things, in this order. Most people arrive at the first and are surprised how quickly they reach the third.
Build
We maintain software that IIT Bhilai actually runs on — the CoSA student database, the careers portal, the campus marketplace, a virtual lab for EEE. Real users, real bug reports, real code review.
Learn
Git, Linux, web and app development, and how open source works in practice — taught in free, hands-on workshops that assume you have never opened a pull request before.
Contribute
The point is not to stay in our repos. We help members land contributions in the wider open-source world, and every year some of them do exactly that.
From zero to your first merged PR
You do not need to already know things to start. This is the route almost everyone here took.
Come to a workshop
Git & GitHub, Linux, or an intro session. No prerequisites, no membership fee, no application.
Pick up a first issue
Our repos carry beginner-friendly issues. A maintainer reviews your PR and tells you what to fix — that review is the whole point.
Join FOSS Overflow or DevLabs
Month-long mentored programs where you work on an active project alongside people who have done it before.
Go contribute anywhere
GSoC, LFX Mentorship, Outreachy, C4GT — or just become the person who maintains the thing the next batch learns on.
Software the campus runs on
These are not exercises. They are maintained, deployed, and used by students and staff at IIT Bhilai — which is why the code review is real.
Student Database CoSA
A centralized platform for managing student data and Positions of Responsibility within CoSA.
Smart Insti App
A one-stop app for all institute-related information and updates.
CCPS Portal
A job posting platform built for IIT Bhilai students, bridging them and the placement cell.
RateMyCourse
A community-driven platform to review and rate courses and instructors at IIT Bhilai.
canonforces
A Codeforces companion — an in-browser IDE, DSA battles, and stat synchronisation.
Leaderboard Pro
A leaderboard that scrapes and ranks results from competitive programming platforms.
And then it leaves campus
In 2023, five OpenLake contributors had their proposals accepted for Google Summer of Code. Members have since shipped production code into the Zowe Client Java SDK through an Open Mainframe Project mentorship, and we keep a public calendar of every major open-source program so nobody misses a deadline.
You do not need to be exceptional to start. You need to be around when the applications open, with a few merged PRs behind you.
Programs our members apply to
How we got here
Jun 2022
HTML & CSS tutorial + mini hackathon
The society's first recorded workshop.
Aug 2022
OpenlySourced, with Anand Panchbai
An introduction to contributing.
Jun 2023
How to Open-Source
Tools, and where to contribute globally.
Jan 2025
GSoC: An Introduction
How to write a proposal that gets accepted.
Aug 2025
Git & GitHub workshop
The one we run for every new batch.
Jan 2026
FOSS Overflow
Our annual month-long open-source program.
The full list lives on the events page.
There is no application.
Join the Discord, come to the next workshop, or open an issue on any repo you find interesting. That is the whole membership process.