Outreachy Contribution Stage: My Experience.

I was very anxious while waiting for the result of my initial application to Outreachy. However, I felt immense joy after being accepted into the contribution stage. The contribution period for the May 2024 cohort is now over, and I am excited to share my experience.

I enjoyed contributing to the Bioconductor community's Microbiome Study Curation Project (BugSigDB). BugSigDB is a database that gives you easy access to data from various scientific studies. This project also aims to facilitate reproducible data analysis from curated studies. If I had to describe BugSigDB, I'd call it A Scientific Researchers Haven.

My decision to join this community was an easy one because it related to my educational background, but I honestly did not know what to expect. Nevertheless, it was an opportunity to experience new people, a new project, and to develop a new interesting skill, so I was up for it.

This is the first project of its kind that I have contributed to, and I have a lot to say about it, but here are a few things that stood out and were special to me during this period:

• I asked many questions because I was new to this project and had to learn from scratch. This is special to me because I sometimes get shy about asking questions. I’m also very grateful to the mentors for always providing answers.

• I attended the Microbiome Virtual International Forum Event for the first time, and it was a wonderful experience. Being in the same space as people who have years and years of experience in a field of interest will always be extra motivating for me.

• I met new people and joined the weekly office hour, which was always interactive and educational. I also had the opportunity to ask questions about my tasks during these meetings.

• The community was welcoming, and collaborating with co-contributors made the work even more fun and exciting.

• I can now curate a microbiome study, which is one of my biggest takeaways from working on this project.

Aside from contributing to this project, it was also a learning phase for me and I always love to take something home. So here are some valuable lessons I learned as a contributor to the microbiome study curation project:

• Always choose a project you are interested in. This won't make the task easier, but it will motivate you to complete every task you start.

• Always ask questions if you're unsure about something. Accuracy matters a lot for a project like this, so assuming things when you're confused might just lead to providing incorrect information.

• The more you collaborate, the easier your task will be, and the more knowledge you'll acquire.

• Always read between the lines. Sometimes, what you're looking for is right in front of you.

• Taking more tasks (and completing them) will expose you to more information, and your next tasks will be easier to work on. Remember, Practice makes progress.

In conclusion, I enjoyed every bit of this project, and I grew with it. It was an incredible 10 out of 10 experience for me, and I'm happy to keep contributing to it.

If you’ve read this far and would love to be part of the community and contribute to this impactful project, you can join the BugsigDB Slack channel.