The Kotlin Ecosystem Mentorship Program (KEMP) pilot brought together experienced mentors and aspiring contributors to collaborate on real open-source projects. Over two months, four pairs successfully completed the program, making meaningful contributions to the Kotlin ecosystem. One lucky pair was randomly selected to win the grand prize—a trip to KotlinConf 2026 in Munich. Here are the highlights and lessons learned from this initiative.
1. What is the Kotlin Ecosystem Mentorship Program?
The Kotlin Ecosystem Mentorship Program (KEMP) is a pilot initiative designed to help newcomers make their first meaningful contribution to open-source Kotlin projects. Over two months, mentors and mentees work together on real projects, tackling everything from UI improvements to CI/CD automation. The program pairs experienced Kotlin developers with eager learners, guiding them through the complexities of community-driven development. In this pilot, ten pairs were selected from 80 mentee applications and 29 mentor applications, reflecting strong community interest. Eight pairs remained active mid-program, and four successfully completed it. One eligible pair was randomly chosen to win the grand prize—a trip to KotlinConf 2026 in Munich.
2. Who won the grand prize and what did they achieve?
The grand prize winners are Mentor Ruslan (yet300) and Mentee Clare Kinery (kinerycl). Their collaboration focused on the Android client of BitChat (bitchat-android). Clare contributed UI and UX improvements that aligned the Android experience with platform conventions, enhancing polish and accessibility. She submitted and merged two pull requests: PR #680 and PR #682. Her work improved voice note styling, camera and audio controls, dark/light theme support, visual hierarchy, and press interaction feedback. These contributions demonstrate how even one motivated contributor can make a significant impact on an open-source project.
3. How did the winning mentor and mentee collaborate?
Ruslan and Clare began their collaboration with a kickoff call to align goals and understand the codebase. After that, they worked asynchronously through chat and GitHub, allowing Clare to progress at her own pace. Ruslan noted that Clare “adapted quickly to the codebase and was able to work independently after the initial alignment.” He praised her strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and solid understanding of UI/UX principles. This structure—combining a focused start with flexible, asynchronous follow-up—proved effective for open-source mentorship, allowing real-world contributions without rigid schedules.
4. What did the winning mentee learn from the experience?
For Clare, the biggest takeaway was understanding the realities of open-source collaboration. As a developer who had never contributed to open source before, she said: “The biggest thing I learned was how open-source collaboration actually works. This program made it feel approachable and far less intimidating than I ever expected. I genuinely don’t think I would have taken that leap without it.” Her experience highlights the importance of structured mentorship in lowering the barrier for new contributors, turning a daunting process into an achievable, rewarding journey.
5. Which other pairs completed the program successfully?
Three other pairs also completed the program, each contributing to different areas of the Kotlin ecosystem:
- Mentor Mohamed Rejeb and Mentee Kaustubh Deshpande worked on the Calf project. Kaustubh handled dependency updates and CI/CD automation.
- Mentor Nikita Vaizin and Mentee Anshul Vyas contributed to FlowMVI. Anshul fixed a bug in the metrics module and wrote part of the migration guide from MVVM to FlowMVI.
- Mentor Adetunji Dahunsi and Mentee Yu Jin collaborated on the heron project. Yu Jin improved input handling and addressed developer-facing issues.
These contributions spanned Android UI, developer tooling, documentation, CI/CD, and multiplatform libraries, showcasing the diversity of Kotlin open-source projects.
6. What were the overall results of the pilot program?
Of the ten pairs initially selected, eight remained active through the midpoint, and four successfully completed the entire two-month program. The program received overwhelming interest: 80 mentee applications and 29 mentor applications. All successful pairs made meaningful contributions across the Kotlin ecosystem, including Android UI, developer tooling, documentation, CI/CD, and multiplatform libraries. The pilot proved that a structured mentorship model can effectively onboard new contributors and produce high-quality output for open-source projects.
7. What are the future plans for KEMP?
Given the strong community response—80 mentee and 29 mentor applications—the organizers plan to continue the program. While specific details for the next iteration are not yet announced, the success of this pilot suggests that KEMP will become a recurring initiative. Interested participants can join the KEMP Slack channel to stay updated on future opportunities and connect with the community. The program aims to lower barriers for new contributors and strengthen the Kotlin open-source ecosystem through guided collaboration.