If you have a passion for dispensing information without desiring any remuneration, possess the ability to motivate and excite others and want to be a part of the world’s largest online encyclopaedia, then you are probably in the right city.
Next week, a Wikipedia team will be in town to launch their Campus Ambassador Programme, and they’re inviting interested individuals to be contributors and editors for the well known information commons.
The objective of the web-based encyclopaedia in launching their countrywide programme is mainly to enhance the presence of local content on their website.
The programme launch is being announced on the main Wikipedia page as well as on a dedicated page created for this purpose. Hisham Mundol, consultant to the Wikimedia Foundation, India, told Pune Mirror, “Pune is India’s education capital and the city has more than two lakh students, which include not only local one, but those from cities all over the country – which is why Wikipedia will be starting the programme from here.”
Mundol also said that he will be arriving in the city this Wednesday to meet the various groups who will be supporting this programme. According to Wikipedia, its ‘Campus Ambassadors’ are students, staff, faculty, and local residents who provide face-to-face Wikipedia training and support on campuses, particularly in classes where teachers are interested in incorporating Wikipedia-editing into the curriculum.
Campus Ambassadors do in-class presentations that introduce students to Wikipedia-editing, run labs and workshops on the technical and cultural aspects of the phenomenon, and in general offer in-person mentorship to students. They also lead outreach efforts on college and university campuses to spread the word and recruit additional teachers, professors and ambassadors.
Harshad Gune, deputy director, Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research (SICSR) said, “The city is full of educational institutes and students from all over the country. Likewise, Pune is the centre of enthusiastic IT professionals and their activities. Therefore, Wikimedia is launching this programme here.”
Wikipedia says they are starting this programme in India and planning a large-scale, high-impact pilot in Pune. This has been planned across all colleges and universities in the Pune municipal area. A distinction of the India Campus Programme is that it is not going to be focused on any one academic subject area, but will endeavour to cover as wide a range of subjects as possible.
Applications are specifically sought for the post of Campus Ambassadors not only from those in India but outside Pune as well. People are welcome to attend training sessions that the Wikimedia Foundation will be conducting in Pune.