A Deep-Dive Into Road to Wiki Cohort 1’s Technical Sessions and Hybrid Collaboration

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This blog is a follow-up to our previous article on an Introduction to WikiClub Tech’s mission. Through this article we aim to provide an in-depth look at the execution, outcomes, and learnings from the recently concluded “Road to Wiki” Cohort 1 (2024-2025). This initiative, a collaboration between WikiClub Tech, IIIT-Hyderabad, Indic Mediawiki Developer User Group, CIS-A2K, and supported by the Wikimedia Foundation, successfully brought together aspiring technologists from across India to build skills and contribute directly to the MediaWiki ecosystem.

The Cohort 1 Journey: A Comprehensive Learning Experience

Road to Wiki Poster

Cohort 1 provided a structured pathway from foundational learning to active contribution, marked by rigorous selection, expert-led training, and hands-on engagement

Rigorous Selection & Onboarding: From over 260 applications spanning 7+ colleges, a two-stage process selected 48 dedicated students. Stage 2 involved a hands-on MediaWiki installation task, successfully completed by over 50 participants, marking their first step into Wikimedia contribution. The selected cohort officially commenced their journey with a virtual onboarding session on September 27th, 2024, receiving the essential “Developer Playbook” guide.

Expert-Led Online Technical Sessions: Equipping Contributors

A cornerstone of Cohort 1 was the series of online masterclasses delivered by industry professionals and experienced Wikimedia contributors. Providing foundational knowledge and practical insights into technologies vital for the Wikimedia stack and open-source contribution:

  • Database & Backend Essentials:
    • SQL Masterclass: Led by Krishna Chaitanya Velaga (Data Scientist-WMF) and Agamya Samuel, covering fundamentals, database management concepts, and real-world SQL use within Wikimedia 
    • PHP Masterclasses: Sessions by Vrijraj Singh explored core PHP principles, object-oriented programming, and building extensions for MediaWiki
    • Python & Flask API: Stuti Verma guided participants through backend development using Python and Flask, demonstrating API creation for platform integration.
    • JavaScript Masterclass: Vivek Singh covered foundational and advanced JavaScript concepts essential for front-end development and interactivity.
  • Wikimedia Ecosystem & Tools:
    • MediaWiki API: Sessions focused on programmatic interaction with the platform.
    • Getting Started with Wiki Tools: Palivela Krupal and Agamya Samuel introduced the “Developer’s Journey” and critical tools like Phabricator (task management), Gerrit (code review), XTools (contribution analysis), Toolforge, and Cloud VPS. Participants received guidance on setting up developer accounts.
MediaWiki API session at Road to Wiki virtual call [Cohort 1]
  • Language Technology:
    • Basics of Multilingual Computing: Santhosh Thottingal (Principal Software Engineer, WMF) provided a deep dive into multilingual principles, Unicode, localization, and live coding demonstrations.
    • Language Tech Volunteering: Srishti Sethi (Senior Developer Advocate, WMF) offered guidance on contributing to Wikimedia’s language projects, covering translation tools and technical tasks.

To keep the online calls interactive and fun, we regularly conducted quizzes related to the session topics, and winners were rewarded with WikiClub Tech goodies and swags! Participants also benefited from access to Google Cloud Skills Boost for hands-on labs.

Collaboration in Action: The Hybrid Call & Multilingual Sorting Exercise

Hybrid session at Prayagraj- Road to Wiki cohort 1
  • Assignments: Hybrid Assignment Fun with Sorting task with offline meetups at partner colleges (Chitkara University, AIET Mangalore, UIT Prayagraj) with online coordination for collaborative work on assignments which saw 20 detailed submissions analyzing sorting inconsistencies across languages (Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali etc.) and tools (Python, Java, JS, Spreadsheets), highlighting Unicode and locale impacts. (See analysis here)
  • Outcomes & Insights: The 20 submitted responses showed significant engagement:
    • Most used Python (12), followed by Java (4), JavaScript (3), and C++ (1).
    • Commonly compared English and Hindi, with 9 students exploring other native languages (Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali).
    • Crucially, 70% observed sorting inconsistencies between languages, and 12 participants correctly attributed variations to Unicode points and locale settings.
    • Participants used both coding environments (13) and spreadsheet tools (7) for comparison.

This exercise provided practical experience in computational linguistics and highlighted the complexities of multilingual computing within software development.

Conclusion: The focused technical sessions, enriched by expert speakers and interactive elements like quizzes, along with the collaborative hybrid activities, were instrumental in equipping Road to Wiki Cohort 1 participants with the necessary skills and understand contributing to the Wikimedia technical ecosystem. We extend our sincere gratitude to all the speakers, mentors, Partners and participants who made these technical deep dives a success.

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