Kernel Development Learning Pipeline

TL;DR:

The Kernel Development Learning Pipeline (KDLP) program aims to create a comprehensive Linux kernel talent pipeline to address the current shortage of qualified entry level kernel candidates.

Mission statement

Throughout the industry, there is a shortage of qualified entry-level software engineers focused on systems programming, especially within the niche of developing for the Linux kernel.

As junior software engineers ourselves, this quickly became evident to us, and we are not the only people concerned about it. Engineers and managers of all levels within our industry niche have observed that we must bring new talent into these spaces, and we must do so urgently.

Time spares no one, not even the most legendary programmers of yore, and if we do not identify and train the next generation, there will be no one to carry the torch of systems programming. We have had the chance to work with many talented and experienced engineers firsthand, and we have benefited greatly from their guidance and mentorship, but we know that this opportunity will not last forever.

In response, we have created the Kernel Development Learning Pipeline a program to bridge the gaps between academia and industry, between the novice and the legend, between the past and the future.

More detail

Our program:

• develops and teaches an "Introduction to Linux Kernel Development" course with curriculum designed to offer a smooth onramp for contributing to the linux kernel.
• participates in the wider linux community (sending patches upstream, attending and presenting at conferences, etc)
• recruits qualified students from our class to internship programs within Red Hat, personally recommending the best interns to hiring managers with the aim of bringing them into the industry as full time software engineers.
• innovates the role open source can play in the classroom:
• What if courses were run like an open source project, and students were encouraged to contribute to their learning by making their mark on the classes they take, leaving them better than they found them, and learning along the way.
• Science has shown, that the only way to learn is to process the information through your brain - to tell the story in your own words.
• By encouraging students to become active members of the course and take ownership of their learning, we can supercharge their growth.

Current offerings:

• We work with the Miner School of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Massachuesetts Lowell, to offer our course to their students on an ongoing basis
• We are partnered with the Linux Foundation's LFX mentorship platform to offer our course as a mentorship.

Past Work:

• Spoke at Linux conventions:
  • LPC 2023
  • Fosdem 2023
  • devconf.cz 2023
  • devconf.us 2021
• Upstream patches:
  • AT_EMPTY_PATH for linkat syscall
  • flags for io_uring linkat support
  • nolibc getauxval
  • Raspberry Pi Sensehat Driver
  • RPi.GPIO2 python library
  • linux libgpiod library
  • vchiq_arm

Future Plans:

• Scale our program - offer it at more universities
• improve options for self-study
• connections at more companies in this space for recruitment

Fun fact

You can view this website in a CLI browser (such as lynx).