Session 5 applications are open! 🚀
👋 Hello Django people!
Thank you for your interest in Djangonaut Space, we have some exciting news to share! Applications for the Djangonaut Program Session 5 are now open! 🎊
If you're enthusiastic about Django and eager to level up your code contributions, this is your opportunity to join a dynamic group mentoring initiative. The program runs for a compact 8 weeks, providing you with a structured yet flexible environment.
Apply now by visiting https://djangonaut.space/sessions/2025-session-5/ and clicking on Apply.
Selected folks will be part of a team of three Djangonauts and have a Navigator to guide them while working on contributing, as well as a Captain to check-in and make sure things go smoothly.
Timeline:
🚀 Applications open: Now!
📅 Applications close: September 14, 2025 AOE
🔉 Results announced: September 18, 2025
💫 Program Starts: September 29, 2025
💻 Projects:
This session we may have a few teams focused on different projects:
Django Core - https://github.com/django/django
django CMS - https://github.com/django-cms/django-cms
Django Debug Toolbar - https://github.com/django-commons/django-debug-toolbar
Wagtail - https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail
🎉 Extra Curricular Events:
We continue to host optional fun events like Django community guest speakers, open office hours for coworking, PR review sessions, and coffee chats for our members, but we have also added a showcase for our Djangonauts to show off their progress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZoKOnIzab4
📝 Ready to get started?
Apply now by visiting https://djangonaut.space/sessions/2025-session-5/ and clicking on Apply. The application deadline is September 14, 2025 end of day anywhere in the world, so be sure to apply before it closes. Please consider reading how we evaluate applications and how to create an outstanding application.
It might be a good idea to read over the entire application and come back when ready to submit, because we won’t allow changes after submission.
We recommend the following to learn more of the details about the program:
Djangonaut Application Form: https://djangonaut.space/sessions/2025-session-5/
Website: https://djangonaut.space/
Talks, podcasts, blogs about our program: https://djangonaut.space/media-talks/
Program documentation: https://github.com/djangonaut-space/program
✨ If you have any questions or need further information, please don't hesitate to reach out to us, and if you know folks that are interested, feel free to forward this email to them as well!
Thank you,
Djangonaut Space Session 5 Organizers
Below is the cross-posted blog post “Taking shots of Confidence Boosts through Djangonaut Space — Learning, Contributing, and Growing in Open Source.“ from Afi Maame Dufie 💜.
Enjoy and we’ll see you around the galaxy!
Hey there,
Today, I will share my Djangonaut experience from last year—it has been unpublished for too long!
Outline
Introduction
Discovering Djangonaut Space
The Learning Experience
My First Contribution
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Impact and Next Steps
Conclusion
Introduction
Last year, I got into Djangonaut Space, and it was one of my best experiences contributing to Open Source(Django).
Djangonaut Space is a free, 8-week group mentoring program where individuals will work self-paced in a semi-structured learning environment and launch their Django contribution career! 🚀
Each cohort has no more than 4 Djangonauts per 1 Navigator. Every Djangonaut is at a relatively similar level. Collaboration is mainly done over a private Discord server, and you receive support from a Captain assigned to your cohort (My Captain was Thibaud Colas, who was excellent, by the way).
A little bit on my background (in case you were curious about my motivations for joining):
Hi :)
I am Abigail Afi Gbadago(my maiden name, however, I am also referred to as Mrs Opoku now). Currently, my roles span across Software Engineering (Backend), DevRel, Strategic Partnerships/Fundraising, Open Source Contributions and Community Management. The intersection may be a bit interesting but that’s a story for another day.
I am a Djangonaut, Regional Executor for Black Python Devs, a Django Software Foundation Board Member, Program Chair for DjangoCon US
2025 and a Microsoft MVP for the Python and Web Track.
I joined the program to make sustainable contributions and engage in community involvement with Django.
Discovering Djangonaut Space
I learned about Djangonaut Space through socials and the community.
Applications open twice a year, and the application process is straightforward. I met my initial expectations to contribute, and I got to build a network and be more immersed in the community.
The Learning Experience
The learning experience was excellent, and I was on Team Neptune.
Overview of the structure:
Onboarding call to familiarize with team and task sheet
Weekly calls for check-ins with the team
Challenges I faced as a contributor
I did not face significant challenges, as there was immense support. I was mostly anxious about whether my PRs were “good to go,” which they were after reviews.
Key lessons learned (technical and non-technical).
I learned to be more courageous and understood that life is a process — baby steps count.
I deepened my knowledge of the contribution process, Django tools/packages, release notes, and many others—some I knew and others I was learning.
My First Contribution
My first contribution was to update the docs (with supported versions) on types of authentication solutions using REMOTE_USER, typically seen on intranet sites, with single sign-on solutions. This was interesting, as I used one of these in a project about three or four years ago — those memories trickled in.
The review process was good, as I received constructive reviews from the Djangonaut team before other reviewers. I will not lie; my heart skipped two beats when I saw a few comments initially, but it was fine after the fix. I felt relieved when the Pull Request(PR) was finally merged; the process felt more familiar afterwards.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome sucks, and it happens to the best of us. However, we still have to move things because time waits for no man. Numbing anxiety by getting reviews from my Team Captain and past djangonauts helped with that feeling of being an imposter. This process helped me gain Confidence, and I could do more.
Sometimes, it may feel like we don’t know 10% or enough to contribute, but trust me, it all counts. I mean, you have to start from somewhere. Be bold, take audacious steps, and forget everybody.
Impact and Next Steps
The experience positively buttressed my view on Open Source contributions, and I love that I stayed in the community. It is an incremental effort, which I will perfect technically and non-technically over time.
If you are interested in participating in Djangonaut Space, kindly look out for the next cohort here: https://djangonaut.space/comms/
Conclusion
Thank you to the organizers and everyone who sacrificed so much to make this a success: Tim, Sarah B., Sarah A., Marijke, Rachell, Anna Astoria, the captains, navigators, and everyone else.
Thank you, Thibaud, for your immense help and positive energy throughout the program. I am grateful for his support.
Shoutout to Velda for consistently reminding my stubborn self to apply so many times 😂❤️
Thank you for reading.
Till we meet next time :)
Are you convinced that Djangonaut Space is right for you? Apply now by visiting https://djangonaut.space/sessions/2025-session-5/ and clicking on Apply.