The GW OSPO Team has been working hard this summer and we are back in Gelman Library getting ready for the incoming students. One debate we have been having as AI rapidly changes our world is whether to rename the GW Coders club and what place, if any, software developers will have in our new world. In my optimistic moments I am hopeful that the creators are still the key to making our world a better place, whether they are called developers, architects, vibe coders, makers, or builders. I even like to think that AI might enable more non-technical people access to become builders and creators. This is why the GW OSPO is proud to partner with DevFest DC 2026 and we invite you to join us for a fun day of building and learning.
- Event: DevFest DC 2026 - must register to attend
- Location: Fuse CENTER at George Mason University, 3351 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201
- Metro: VA Square Metro (Orange & Silver lines) - four stops from Foggy Bottom
- Date / Time: Friday August 28th / 9am-6pm
The DevFest DC lineup is filled with interesting talks and experienced speakers plus there is a Build-A-Thon where you can compete solo or as a team. The first five GW students who decide to compete in the Build-A-Thon will get a free ticket to the event. Please email ospo
gwu [dot] edu (ospo[at]gwu[dot]edu) if you are interested. Also, please be aware that if you make your Build-A-Thon project open source, then you are likely able to enter it as part of the GW OSPO Student Award Program. The top prize for the GW OSPO Student Award Program is $800 and there are separate tracks for graduate and undergraduate students.
Last year’s DevFest DC event had 800 attendees, so it promises to be a good crowd. This is the GW OSPO’s first year as a partner and though the registration costs are very reasonable (especially for students) the organizers are generously offering a discount for any GW faculty and staff. Please use the promotion code GDGDC2026 for 25% Discount of Early Bird/Regular tickets. This is a very good deal as the event includes food in addition to all the content. Finally, in this very challenging environment, I can not emphasize enough the importance of networking and this event is an ideal opportunity to network.
We hope to see you there!
Upcoming GW OSPO events & collaborations
- Aug 28, Friday 9am-6pm DevFest DC 2026
- Sept 15, Tuesday 1-3pm CURIOSS Git and GitHub Webinar
- Sept 16, Wednesday 2-3pm: OSPO Workshop - Clean Data, Dirty Politics: Let's explore the Federal Election Commissions (FEC) data
- Sept 24, Thursday 2-3pm: OSPO Workshop - Join the Open Source Revolution
- Oct 3, Saturday 9:30am-6pm: DC Civic Hack
- Nov 1st, Sunday Midnight: Deadline for GW OSPO Student Award submissions
- Mar 31 - Apr 1, 2027, Wed & Thur 9am-5pm: GW OSCON
Author - David Lippert
This blog post was created by a human without any known AI assistance.