Most students hear about hackathons, open source and developer communities in their third or fourth year. By then, a lot of the best chances to use them are gone.
I'm a final-year student at Dharmsinh Desai University in Nadiad, and this October I'm doing something about that.
๐ I'm bringing Hacktoberfest to Nadiad.
๐ช Why I'm doing this
I spent my entire first year doing what I thought I was supposed to do: attending lectures, reading theory, giving exams, and scoring a 9+ CPI.
I had never heard of MLH, DEV or Hacktoberfest. Not once.
I found all three only in the last 3-4 months, and it changed how I see college. I started writing on DEV, built a presence there, won the GitHub Finish-Up-A-Thon challenge, became a DEV Trusted Member, and now I'm organizing an MLH-approved event. And I'm not even a member of any college club. It's just me, trying to make sure you don't miss this like I did.
Two of the things we'll cover, open-source AI models and running Claude Code on free open models, weren't even a thing when I was a first-year. So this session is made of everything I wish I'd had back then.
๐ What is Hacktoberfest?
Hacktoberfest is a month-long global celebration of open source, run every October by Major League Hacking (MLH) with partners including DigitalOcean and DEV. This year the theme is open-source AI, and hundreds of local events (called Fests) are happening around the world.
Ours is one of them, listed on the official Hacktoberfest site:
#hacktoberfest
๐ The event: DJ29 ร DDU, The Fresher Playbook
| ๐ Date | Thursday, 15 October 2026 |
| โฐ Time | 5:30 PM onwards (main session wraps up around 7:30 PM) |
| ๐ซ Venue | Dharmsinh Desai University, College Road, Nadiad (exact hall to be shared) |
| ๐ Cost | Free |
| ๐ฅ For | All years and branches, built mainly for first-years |
It's a casual, discussion-style meetup, not a lecture.
๐ก No laptop? No problem. Everything will be on the screen, and the slides and details will be on the event page. You only need a phone to check in.
๐งญ What we'll cover
1. ๐ค Open-source AI models
What they are, how they differ from closed tools, and how you can start using them yourself.
2. ๐ ๏ธ Claude Code with free open models
A hands-on look at setting up the Claude Code interface with open models through NVIDIA NIM APIs. It's free to try, and you don't need a powerful laptop.
3. ๐ช The opportunities students miss
MLH, the DEV community and Hacktoberfest itself, and how each one can help your skills, your resume and your network.
๐๏ธ How the evening looks
| Time (approx.) | Session |
|---|---|
| 5:30 โ 5:45 PM | Welcome and intro |
| 5:45 โ 6:20 PM | Open-source AI models |
| 6:20 โ 6:30 PM | Short break |
| 6:30 โ 6:55 PM | Claude Code with free open models |
| 6:55 โ 7:25 PM | MLH, DEV and Hacktoberfest |
| 7:25 โ 7:30 PM | Wrap-up and Q&A |
โฑ๏ธ Heads up: the main session wraps up around 7:30 PM, but the event will be over by 8:30 PM at the latest. We need time to check in every student, whether they're from DDU or from other colleges, and to distribute swag if it arrives before the event.
๐ What you get
- ๐๏ธ Virtual stickers and an official participation certificate for everyone who checks in with a MyMLH account
- ๐ฆ A sticker pack from MLH, mailed to your address about 8-12 weeks after Hacktoberfest ends. Add your shipping address to your MyMLH account to be eligible
- ๐ Event swag, shipped by MLH from overseas, so it may arrive late. I'll hand it out on the day if it's here, or as soon as it lands. If there's more demand than swag, we'll settle it with a quiz and discussion round
โ How to join
- Register (free) using the button above
- Create a free MyMLH account and add your shipping address before the day
- Show up on the 15th and check in on your phone with the code shared in the room
From another college?
Register as usual. Campus entry details will be shared with registered attendees.
Exam on Friday the 16th?
Register anyway and write "Friday session" in the last box of the form. If enough people ask, I'll run a smaller session on Friday too.
Do I need any experience?
None. The session is made for people who are just starting out.
๐ฌ One question for you
What's one thing you wish someone had told you in your first year of college? Drop it in the comments. I'll bring the best answers to the session.
See you in Nadiad. ๐ And if you like this kind of content, follow me on DEV:
Top comments (16)
Omg that's great! I wish I would come, but I am from another country entirely lol. XD
One advice I would tell myself, and to all first-year students, is start being proactive. You don't need to wait for permission to do something like doing open source, create projects, etc.
A lot of people, including myself, falls under this predicament where we just do the bare minimum and in hopes we get a job after college. 1% of people can do that surprisingly, but it's really rare, especially with networking. Do beyond what college teaches you. If there are opportunities, you take it. Don't let it sit and fade out. You will be surprise on how much progress you have made in a short amount of time.
Thanks Dhruv and have fun organizing the event! Shout me out if you want :D
I'll surely shout you out. You're the most famous person on DEV for me.
At the end part of the event, I'm gonna talk about DEV, MLH and Hacktoberfest.
So, people become aware, as I wasn't till v start of my final year. And start doing things early that I did v late.
Alright, let's make this useful ๐
If you could go back to your first year of college, what's ONE thing you wish someone had told you earlier?
Could be about open source, hackathons, AI, internships, communities, projects, anything.
Drop it below โ I'm genuinely going to collect the best answers and bring them into the meetup. ๐
Woww !!! That's a awesome newsss
Thanks!๐
This is such a great initiative! ๐ธ
If I could go back to my first year of university, I think meeting a community I could really get involved in or finding a mentor early on, would have changed my life quite a bit.
I really like that youโre creating that opportunity for students now. Good luck with the event! ๐
Thanks for the kind words!๐
Actually my story is the same, I came up across these opportunities in my final year just 3-4 months ago and it helped me a lot in interview, gain confidence and everything. Hope I can make people aware of it and they don't miss out like I did.
Have A Great Day!
This is awesome! Good luck. You'll do great and can't wait to hear how it went!
Thanks! I'll definitely share about how it went and all!
เชถเซเชญเชเชพเชฎเชจเชพเช!
เชงเชจเซเชฏเชตเชพเชฆ!
Cool Bro. I'm happy we're organizing it together!
Yes, and sorry I didn't mention your name in the post but I was planning a small team of volunteers and wanted the post to be just about the fest!๐
third or fourth year" problem is real โ I watched half my batch graduate without ever touching a real codebase that wasn't a college assignment. Running Claude Code on local open models is a solid pick for the session, most students think AI = ChatGPT and never see what runs on their own machine. One thing: make sure people leave with at least one merged PR, not just slides. That's the difference between inspiration and actually starting.
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