WordPress Community Education Programs

The WordPress Community Education Programs Handbook serves as a central guide and resource for all community-driven educational initiatives. Its purpose is to empower students, educators, organizers, and mentorsEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. globally by providing clear information and structure for programs that cultivate WordPress skills, foster open-source contributions, and grow the next generation of WordPress professionals. It details how to participate in, organize, and support the official education programs, connecting academic learning with real-world community engagement.

Education Initiatives

WordPress Campus Connect

WordPress Campus Connect is a global learning initiative designed to bring hands-on WordPress experience directly to educational institutions and community spaces.

• Purpose: To provide valuable, free, and accessible learning for students, helping them build practical WordPress skills, work on real projects, and explore the wide range of career opportunities within the WordPress ecosystem.
• Format: Events are typically hosted as simple, flexible half-day or full-day workshops on campus, led by experienced contributors and industry experts.
• Key Features: Focuses on hands-on training in website building, learning basic SEO, and understanding the role of themes and plugins. It is open to anyone connected to an educational institution to organize, requiring no prior organizing experience. It is often the first step in creating a lasting WordPress presence on a campus.

WordPress Credits

WordPress Credits is a contribution-based program by the WordPress FoundationWordPress Foundation The WordPress Foundation is a charitable organization founded by Matt Mullenweg to further the mission of the WordPress open source project: to democratize publishing through Open Source, GPL software. Find more on wordpressfoundation.org. that specifically connects higher education students with the global open-source community.

• Purpose: To offer students real-world, mentored experience that helps them fulfill academic requirements while directly contributing to the WordPress project. It guides the next generation of contributors through hands-on learning.
• Structure: The program typically runs for an academic semester and involves three main phases:
  1. Onboarding: Students receive training on WordPress tools, community culture, and open-source collaboration.
  2. Project Work: Students develop a personal contribution project in their area of interest (e.g., translation, content creation, event organization, development, or design).
  3. Wrap-Up: Students present their work and share reflections to help improve the program.
• Benefits: Students build practical skills, gain confidence, and connect with a global open-source community under the guidance of experienced mentors.

WordPress Student Clubs

WordPress Student Clubs is an initiative created to empower students to build and sustain local, year-round WordPress communities on their campuses.

• Purpose: To create a continuous space for ongoing learning, sharing, and growth, allowing students to keep the open-source spirit active on campus even after initial events like Campus Connect. It empowers student organizers to develop leadership skills and grow their local community.
• Activities: Clubs can host regular events such as monthly meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook., collaborative sessions, and recurring WordPress Campus Connect activities. This ensures that students who may have missed an initial event still have the opportunity to engage and learn.
• Formation: Clubs can be formed by campuses new to WordPress or those that have already hosted a Campus Connect event or participated in WordPress Credits. They typically require only one faculty member and two student co-leads to get started.

For further details, please explore the full guidelines, resources, and latest updates for each of these programs, through the individual entries within the Education Handbook.