This manifesto serves as a retrospective on the technical achievements and changes brought forth by the '26 batch of HSP during the academic year 2025-26.
rollback;
Usually manifestos are forward-looking documents that outline the vision and goals for the future. However, this manifesto takes a different approach by reflecting on the past year and celebrating the technical milestones and transformative changes that the '26 batch of HSP brought during 2025-26.
Tilde 4.0
Tilde is usually the first big task that sets the ball rolling for the new batch of recruits (including us @Core) and this year was no different.
We revamped the entire Tilde mentorship program, introducing a more structured recruitment policy and spanning it over 5 weeks during our summer break. We launched the Homebrew Discord server and helped genuinely pick interested mentees who were committed to learning and contributing to open-source projects.
Some of our new recruits are direct picks from the Tilde program, so long as you can pickup a project and are geniunely interested in learning and contributing to open-source, you will be a great fit!
Read more about the projects on our homebrew blog: homebrew.hsp-ec.xyz
Odd Semester
Bootstrap week was very fun, we met some really interested folks and loved talking to people in general. We also had some really good workshops and a productive odd semester.
Project Expo 2.0
We had 419 registrations and 250+ attendees filling Seminar Hall 3 and a bunch of classrooms; showcasing some amazing projects:
- Mettu: A static site generator using Python and Vite. By Andey Hemanth
- FeynTerm: A learning pipeline using the Feynman Learning Technique. By Avrit Sharma
- Plus Boy: An ARM7TDMI emulator written in C++. By Aditya R
- Home-Labbing 101: A guide to self-hosting websites, NAS, and Home Assistant. By Mebin Thattil
- HALO VR: A modular VR system with smart shoes, a haptic suit, and motion tracking. By Zaid Mallik
- TestRunner: A sandboxed coding environment for secure, one-time test runs. By Vinaayak G Dasika
Modal Editors
Kiran's workshop on modal editors was a huge hit, with over 100 attendees eager to learn about the power of modal editing. The session covered the core principles of modal editors, demonstrating how they can enhance coding speed and precision. Attendees left with a solid understanding of how to use modal editors in real-world projects, marking a significant step forward in their coding journey.
Pruning + New Recruitment Policy
Sometimes you have to clean up your garden to let the new plants grow, we had a lot of dead weight in our community, and we wanted to create a more active and engaged membership.
We bid farewell to some of our members that no longer aligned with our vision, while welcoming new recruits who bring fresh perspectives and energy to our community. We got rid of domains and instead focused on recruiting members who are genuinely interested in learning and contributing to open-source projects for we are a tech community after all.
We want to ensure that our members are genuinely interested in learning and contributing to open-source projects, and that they have the necessary skills and mindset to learn and build in public.
Even Semester
The even semester was a bit more relaxed, with fewer workshops and events on campus. However, we went full steam with firesides, especially with the new recruits and opening it up to the entire community. We had some really good firesides with alum/professionals and our own members, covering a wide range of topics from Networks, Finance, UX, FOSS, Machine Learning, Math and more.
Bitfl!p Workshop
Andey and Aston bring you BitFlip, an interactive workshop on the Theory of Encoding Data, where we dive into the world of data compression and error coding, exploring the algorithms that power data storage, transfer, and modern communication systems.
Branding
Its time for new Hoodies! A homebrew theme'd hoodie and a niche design that reflects our community and this is something that can be worn casually in an office or public space without it reeking of a college club.
We want to create a sense of pride and belonging among our members, and we also want to showcase our community to the world. Our unique beige hoodies with a simple design and our logo will be a great way to achieve this, and we hope to see our members rocking them in the wild!
Firesides
We also made our CFP policy public, with a nice /firesides page where you can submit your own fireside talk proposals. We encourage every one of our members to share their knowledge and experiences with the community, and we are always looking for interesting topics and speakers for our firesides.
We totaled a whopping ten-firesides during the even semester, and we hope to continue this trend in the future. We want to create a culture of knowledge sharing and learning within our community, and we believe that firesides are a great way to achieve this!
FOSS Talks 3.0
FOSS Talks is back with its 3rd edition, and this time we hosted it at the iconic Samagata Space in Bengaluru!
FOSS Talks is a curated event series where developers share deep dives into their projects, technical learnings, and experiences building in the FOSS ecosystem. If you are working on open-source technologies, contributing to the community, or exploring interesting technologies in the FOSS space, we encourage you to submit a talk.
Meetups
Meetups are a great way to connect with other developers and learn about new technologies and trends in the industry. We encourage our members to attend meetups and conferences, both locally and globally, to expand their knowledge and network. Some of the talks our members attended include:
Mangalore FOSS @NITK, SRE Meetup, Bengaluru Systems, Command Line Heros, and more!
IndiaFOSS '25
We had a great time at IndiaFOSS '25, where we got to spectate some amazing talks and meet some really cool people in the FOSS ecosystem, both India and around the world.
Looking Ahead
This year rebooting or rather expanding Homebrew to beyond just being a collection of open-source projects to a more holistic FOSS wing was a big change. We don't know if it will work but we want to host meetups and events under the Homebrew banner, and we want to encourage our members to talk to people in the industry and bring in more speakers to our events.
HSP is a student run community, and as such, we are always evolving and changing. We are not afraid to make changes that we believe will benefit our community, even if they are difficult or unpopular.
We hope the next core team continues to build on the foundation we have laid and takes HSP to new heights. We are excited to see what the future holds for HSP and are confident that it will continue to be a vibrant and thriving community for years to come!
Closing Note
We sincerely appreciate you taking the time and effort to read through this manifesto and understand our journey during the 2025-26 academic year! Reach us at [email protected] for any questions, suggestions or just to say hi!
~Nathan. Mentor Lead @HSP '26