When the Rensselaer Center for Open Source Software (RCOS) was established in 2007, there were four student members, working on two open source projects. The seed money for RCOS was donated by Sean O’Sullivan ’85, a member of the Rensselaer Board of Trustees and founder of MapInfo, JumpStart International, and other companies, with the intention to “support the development of open software solutions to promote civil societies in the United States and across the globe.” Part of the Computer Science Department, RCOS is growing dramatically; there are now more than 160 student members, with over half of those new to the center this year.

To join, a student needs to start or become involved with an existing open source project, one that somehow serves the greater good. Every aspect of that project—plans, progress, issues, goals, and most importantly, the code—must be open, available, and transparent.

Learn more