Rust Embraces Diversity: Joining Outreachy for May 2026 Internships
The Rust project has a strong track record of taking part in open-source mentorship initiatives, such as Google Summer of Code (GSoC) and OSPP. They are now thrilled to announce their participation in the upcoming Outreachy cohort starting in May 2026. Outreachy focuses on providing internships to individuals from underrepresented backgrounds in tech, fostering inclusivity and fresh perspectives. Below, we explore how this program works, what makes it unique, and the exciting projects Rust will mentor.
- What is Outreachy and why is the Rust Project participating?
- How does the application process for Outreachy differ from Google Summer of Code?
- What are the eligibility criteria for Outreachy interns?
- How many interns is Rust mentoring in the May 2026 cohort?
- What is the project to call overloaded C++ functions from Rust?
- What is the code coverage project for the Rust compiler?
- What is the fuzzing project for a-mir-formality?
What is Outreachy and why is the Rust Project participating?
Outreachy is an internship program that connects open-source communities with individuals from groups that are historically underrepresented or face systemic bias in tech. Unlike programs such as Google Summer of Code, Outreachy requires applicants to first be accepted into the overall program before they can apply to specific communities. The Rust Project has decided to join the May 2026 cohort to further its commitment to diversity and inclusion. This builds on their existing involvement with other mentorship initiatives like GSoC and OSPP, enabling them to welcome fresh voices and perspectives into the Rust ecosystem. By sponsoring interns, Rust aims to strengthen the language's tooling, documentation, and core development while providing meaningful mentorship opportunities.
How does the application process for Outreachy differ from Google Summer of Code?
The two programs share similarities but have key differences. In Outreachy, candidates must first apply and be accepted to the overall program before they can approach individual communities for projects. A major distinction is that Outreachy has a dedicated contribution period where applicants are required to make contributions to the community they’re interested in before applying — this is not just optional as it often is in GSoC. After this period, interns submit a formal application similar to GSoC, and communities select interns based on both the application and the contributions made. Another crucial difference lies in funding: while Google generously covers stipends and overhead for GSoC, Outreachy requires participating communities to fund their own interns’ stipends and program costs.
What are the eligibility criteria for Outreachy interns?
Outreachy aims to support people who face underrepresentation, systemic bias, or discrimination in the technical industry in their home country. This includes but is not limited to people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those with disabilities. The program is open to applicants from any background who meet these criteria, regardless of their current location. Interns must be available for the full internship period — either May to August or December to March, depending on the cohort. The selection process evaluates not only technical skills but also the quality of contributions made during the application period, ensuring a fair chance for candidates who may have faced barriers in traditional hiring pipelines.
How many interns is Rust mentoring in the May 2026 cohort?
Due to limited funding and mentoring capacity, the Rust Project has decided to mentor four interns for the May 2026 Outreachy cohort. This number reflects a careful balance between providing quality mentorship and managing resource constraints. Each intern will work on a specific project under the guidance of experienced mentors from the Rust community. The selected projects cover a range of areas, from improving interoperability with C++ to enhancing compiler testing infrastructure and type system verification.
What is the project to call overloaded C++ functions from Rust?
Intern Ajay Singh will work on this experimental feature, mentored by teor, Taylor Cramer, and Ethan Smith. The goal is to enable Rust code to call overloaded C++ functions directly, a capability that currently lacks native support. This would allow Rust projects to leverage existing C++ libraries more seamlessly. The project will first implement the feature in a minimal form and then test it with a few representative use cases to ensure correctness and practicality. Success here could significantly lower barriers for teams integrating Rust into C++ codebases.
What is the code coverage project for the Rust compiler?
Intern Akintewe Oluwasola will work on this initiative, mentored by Jack Huey. The aim is to develop workflows for running and analyzing code coverage of the Rust compiler at scale — across the entire compiler test suite and on ecosystem crates detected by Crater. This will help identify areas of the compiler that are insufficiently tested, both internally and in the wider ecosystem. Tools will be built to enable continuous analysis, allowing the community to catch coverage regressions early and improve overall code quality.
What is the fuzzing project for a-mir-formality?
Intern Tunde-Ajayi Olamiposi will tackle this project, mentored by Niko Matsakis, Rémy Rakic, and tiif. The goal is to implement fuzzing for a-mir-formality, an in-progress formal model for Rust's type and trait system. Fuzzing will help uncover edge cases and bugs in the model by generating random inputs and checking for violations of expected behavior. This is critical for ensuring the model's robustness as Rust's type system evolves. The work will build on existing infrastructure and contribute to ongoing research on formal verification in Rust.