BENEFITS OF JOINING MDU OSUM

Benefits of Joining OSUM
The Open Source University Meetup is a great place to connect with other technical students who are interested in free and open source software. OSUMs provide students with training in cutting edge technologies in demand by the IT industry, access to resources to advance their careers and the opportunity to make friends through engaging and fun technology-based activities.

OSUM clubs exist at universities all over the world and conduct regular on-campus activities. These activities provide students who participate with benefits which include:
· Hands- on training via Tech Demos and Student Projects to learn technologies that can lead to promising careers in the IT industry.
· Ready access to free and low-cost student resources, such as the SAI (free trainng and discounted certification).
· Make lots of like-minded (technical) friends through the Sun OSUM global community.
· Have access to a variety of OSUM events such as Software Freedom Day(we are planning to celebrate it with great vigor in college!), University Day, etc.
OSUM Organization Elements
Your OSUM has two elements that create the organization: Physical and Virtual.
Physical: The OSUM Club brings students together on-campus to learn how they can benefit from FOSS
· Monthly meetings
· Student projects
· Guest speakers
· Installfest
· Open-source events
· Make new friends on campus with a shared interest in coding and FOSS
Virtual: OSUMs enables student developers to connect to each other and to Sun through a virtual social networking site. New OSUMs and existing student-developer groups that affiliate with the OSUM program will receive free access to the OSUM web site. Benefits of this social networking site include the following:
· A feature-rich social networking site that can host the web site for each individual OSUM and connect it to OSUMs and their members around the world.
· Everyday interaction with a global community of student developers Students will be able to do the following:
o Write blogs
o Post comments
o Use an instant-messaging application
o Upload photos and videos
* Post profiles of themselves.
* Communicate in forums
The OSUM Community allows students to participate and create the online communities. Students can create their own subgroups by technology, language, and other special interests.
What does it mean to be an OSUM Affiliate Group?
An OSUM Affiliate Group is an OSUM group that can receive support from Sun Microsystems. Sun will provide materials via Activity Kits (which can include but not limited: data sheet, media kit, and or promotional items). Activity Kits are designed as events in box. With the contents of the Activity Kit, an OSUM Affiliate Group should be able to successfully hold an activity learning about an Open
Source Technology. Additionally, as part of the OSUM Affiliate Program, every OSUM Affiliate Group's School Name can be added to the School drop down menu.

OSUM group Page