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Every industry has its moment of convergence when experience meets innovation, and when individuals choose to build not just for themselves, but for the community they’re part of.
For us, shaping the future of media tech, that moment takes shape in Summer Project the space where community, purpose, and contribution meet.
At Qualabs, we believe technical contribution means more than shipping code. It’s about showing up, asking the right questions, and shaping the direction of an ecosystem we deeply care about. As hosts and mentors, we don’t see Summer Project as “just” an initiative. It’s a commitment to elevate the people, ideas, and technologies that are moving video forward.
There comes a point in every engineer’s journey where building alone stops being enough. When the real value comes from co-creating, mentoring, and contributing together. That’s what Summer Project is all about!
What’s Summer Project?
Summer Project is a remote, async, open-source initiative that runs from November to January. It’s one of the ways to participate in Summer Camp and the most hands-on and technical of all.
It’s not a hackathon. It’s not a bootcamp. It’s a focused, distributed collaboration where contributors team up to solve real problems in the media tech ecosystem, guided by experienced mentors, and supported by community sponsors.
From anywhere in the world, over three months, developers work on two selected open-source projects that will leave a meaningful mark on the industry.
👉🏼Learn more at montevideotech.dev/about-summer-project
Why we contribute
At Qualabs, contribution is not a checkbox. It’s how we move the industry forward.
We live and breathe video tech. We build software that powers streaming platforms, we shape workflows, we test standards. But behind all that code is a deeper intention: to make the ecosystem better for everyone. Not by holding knowledge, but by sharing it. Not by building in silos, but by opening the door.
This is why we host Summer Camp. Because we believe in engineering with others not just for others.
We don’t show up to make noise. We show up to create value that lasts: A project that solves something real! A tool that others can build upon. A space where someone finds their voice.
That’s the kind of contribution we believe in. Not because it’s easy. But because it matters.
If you want to go deeper into how we think about open source? Read: Why we build together
How Summer Projects works
We’re looking to support and co-create work that:
- Solves real problems in the media/video ecosystem.
- Brings people together around meaningful challenges.
- Leaves something behind a tool, a standard, a repo that someone else can pick up and build on.
Each year, Summer Project focuses on two community-backed open-source challenges. These aren’t hobby experiments they’re real contributions to the media tech space, scoped to address relevant challenges with real value for the community.
Each project is supported by a clear structure:
- 3 months of async collaboration, with weekly syncs to stay aligned
- Teams supported by experienced Tech Sponsors and Industry Supporters
- A clear focus on public, documented, open-source results
- Proposals reviewed and selected based on relevance, feasibility and community impact
Have an idea? Submit an idea
You just need a good question and the will to build around it.
Ways to Participate
Whether you’re an experienced engineer, a product thinker, or just curious about contributing there’s a place for you in Summer Camp:
Be a Tech Sponsor
The technical champion of the idea. Brings clarity, experience, and helps shape the scope.Guides contributors and unlocks progress throughout the project.
💡This role is ideal for tech leaders/engineers with strong experience and a passion for mentorship.
Be a Contributor
You join the team to build. You code, test, learn, and help create something meaningful for the video tech ecosystem. It’s collaborative, hands-on, and high-impact.
💡Ideal for engineers/developers looking to grow, make impact, and co-create.
Be a Industry Supporter
You help validate the challenge. You bring domain insight from production environments, ensuring the project solves something that really matters.
💡 Perfect for tech leads, product folks, and community stakeholders.
These roles create the foundation for real collaboration. They help ensure that each project isn't just technically impressive. It’s strategically relevant and truly useful.
Our Past Contributions
We’ve had the honor of co-leading several open-source projects through Summer Camp, all built from real problems we’ve faced or observed in the field:
- MoQ Player (2025): Low-latency playback using QUIC, rethinking ABR selection.
- VAST to SGAI Converter (2025): A practical tool for server-guided ad insertion.
- Common Media Library (2024): Playback standardization across platforms.
- CMCD Validator (2024): Making quality metrics more accessible and actionable.
Want to explore them? Summer Project Archive
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