> Many of them seem to have been explicitly encouraged to participate in international open source projects by their institution. Some appear to do it in order to receive credit from the institution.
Working on an open source project is sufficient to receive credits for an internship or a co-op in most Indian educational institutions. So, unfortunately most of them are not there for the love of open source but because they need the credits and something to put on their CV.
> Most of them expect to be told what to work on, and there is a distinct edge of subservience to their communication style with us that you don't see from non-Indian mentees.
This is a cultural thing. Even though you are their mentor, they expect you to play the role of a boss.
> So, unfortunately most of them are not there for the love of open source but because they need the credits and something to put on their CV.
Why "unfortunately"? Many people (me included)
working on Linux, MySQL, Android, or any other corporation backed open source project do not contribute because they want to, it's just what they're paid for. Nevertheless, their contribution is real and useful.
Working on an open source project is sufficient to receive credits for an internship or a co-op in most Indian educational institutions. So, unfortunately most of them are not there for the love of open source but because they need the credits and something to put on their CV.
> Most of them expect to be told what to work on, and there is a distinct edge of subservience to their communication style with us that you don't see from non-Indian mentees.
This is a cultural thing. Even though you are their mentor, they expect you to play the role of a boss.