Merge pull request #48039 from Okabe-Junya/spotlight-cncj-k8s-training

[Blog] Spotlight for k8s upstream training in Japan

Author: k8s-ci-robot

content/en/blog/_posts/2024-10-28-k8s-upstream-training-japan-spotlight/index.md

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+---
+layout: blog
+title: "Spotlight on Kubernetes Upstream Training in Japan"
+slug: k8s-upstream-training-japan-spotlight
+date: 2024-10-28
+canonicalUrl: https://www.k8s.dev/blog/2024/10/28/k8s-upstream-training-japan-spotlight/
+author: >
+  [Junya Okabe](https://github.com/Okabe-Junya) (University of Tsukuba)
+  Organizing team of Kubernetes Upstream Training in Japan
+---
+
+## About our team
+
+We are organizers of [Kubernetes Upstream Training in Japan](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/contributor-playground/tree/master/japan).
+Our team is composed of members who actively contribute to Kubernetes, including individuals who hold roles such as member, reviewer, approver, and chair.
+
+Our goal is to increase the number of Kubernetes contributors and foster the growth of the community.
+While Kubernetes community is friendly and collaborative, newcomers may find the first step of contributing to be a bit challenging.
+Our training program aims to lower that barrier and create an environment where even beginners can participate smoothly.
+
+## What is Kubernetes upstream training in Japan?
+
+![Upstream Training in 2022](ood-2022-01.png)
+
+Our training started in 2019 and is held 1 to 2 times a year.
+Initially, Kubernetes Upstream Training was conducted as a co-located event of KubeCon (Kubernetes Contributor Summit),
+but we launched Kubernetes Upstream Training in Japan with the aim of increasing Japanese contributors by hosting a similar event in Japan.
+
+Before the pandemic, the training was held in person, but since 2020, it has been conducted online.
+The training offers the following content for those who have not yet contributed to Kubernetes:
+
+* Introduction to Kubernetes community
+* Overview of Kubernetes codebase and how to create your first PR
+* Tips and encouragement to lower participation barriers, such as language
+* How to set up the development environment
+* Hands-on session using [kubernetes-sigs/contributor-playground](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/contributor-playground)
+
+At the beginning of the program, we explain why contributing to Kubernetes is important and who can contribute.
+We emphasize that contributing to Kubernetes allows you to make a global impact and that Kubernetes community is looking forward to your contributions!
+
+We also explain Kubernetes community, SIGs, and Working Groups.
+Next, we explain the roles and responsibilities of Member, Reviewer, Approver, Tech Lead, and Chair.
+Additionally, we introduce the communication tools we primarily use, such as Slack, GitHub, and mailing lists.
+Some Japanese speakers may feel that communicating in English is a barrier.
+Additionally, those who are new to the community need to understand where and how communication takes place.
+We emphasize the importance of taking that first step, which is the most important aspect we focus on in our training!
+
+We then go over the structure of Kubernetes codebase, the main repositories, how to create a PR, and the CI/CD process using [Prow](https://docs.prow.k8s.io/).
+We explain in detail the process from creating a PR to getting it merged.
+
+After several lectures, participants get to experience hands-on work using [kubernetes-sigs/contributor-playground](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/contributor-playground), where they can create a simple PR.
+The goal is for participants to get a feel for the process of contributing to Kubernetes.
+
+At the end of the program, we also provide a detailed explanation of setting up the development environment for contributing to the `kubernetes/kubernetes` repository,
+including building code locally, running tests efficiently, and setting up clusters.
+
+## Interview with participants
+
+We conducted interviews with those who participated in our training program.
+We asked them about their reasons for joining, their impressions, and their future goals.
+
+### [Keita Mochizuki](https://github.com/mochizuki875) ([NTT DATA Group Corporation](https://www.nttdata.com/global/en/about-us/profile))
+
+Keita Mochizuki is a contributor who consistently contributes to Kubernetes and related projects.
+Keita is also a professional in container security and has recently published a book.
+Additionally, he has made available a [Roadmap for New Contributors](https://github.com/mochizuki875/KubernetesFirstContributionRoadMap), which is highly beneficial for those new to contributing.
+
+**Junya:** Why did you decide to participate in Kubernetes Upstream Training?
+
+**Keita:** Actually, I participated twice, in 2020 and 2022.
+In 2020, I had just started learning about Kubernetes and wanted to try getting involved in activities outside of work, so I signed up after seeing the event on Twitter by chance.
+However, I didn't have much knowledge at the time, and contributing to OSS felt like something beyond my reach.
+As a result, my understanding after the training was shallow, and I left with more of a "hmm, okay" feeling.
+
+In 2022, I participated again when I was at a stage where I was seriously considering starting contributions.
+This time, I did prior research and was able to resolve my questions during the lectures, making it a very productive experience.
+
+**Junya:** How did you feel after participating?
+
+**Keita:** I felt that the significance of this training greatly depends on the participant's mindset.
+The training itself consists of general explanations and simple hands-on exercises, but it doesn't mean that attending the training will immediately lead to contributions.
+
+**Junya:** What is your purpose for contributing?
+
+**Keita:** My initial motivation was to "gain a deep understanding of Kubernetes and build a track record," meaning "contributing itself was the goal."
+Nowadays, I also contribute to address bugs or constraints I discover during my work.
+Additionally, through contributing, I've become less hesitant to analyze undocumented features directly from the source code.
+
+**Junya:** What has been challenging about contributing?
+
+**Keita:** The most difficult part was taking the first step. Contributing to OSS requires a certain level of knowledge, and leveraging resources like this training and support from others was essential.
+One phrase that stuck with me was, "Once you take the first step, it becomes easier to move forward."
+Also, in terms of continuing contributions as part of my job, the most challenging aspect is presenting the outcomes as achievements.
+To keep contributing over time, it's important to align it with business goals and strategies, but upstream contributions don't always lead to immediate results that can be directly tied to performance.
+Therefore, it's crucial to ensure mutual understanding with managers and gain their support.
+
+**Junya:** What are your future goals?
+
+**Keita:** My goal is to contribute to areas with a larger impact.
+So far, I've mainly contributed by fixing smaller bugs as my primary focus was building a track record,
+but moving forward, I'd like to challenge myself with contributions that have a greater impact on Kubernetes users or that address issues related to my work.
+Recently, I've also been working on reflecting the changes I've made to the codebase into the official documentation,
+and I see this as a step toward achieving my goals.
+
+**Junya:** Thank you very much!
+
+### [Yoshiki Fujikane](https://github.com/ffjlabo) ([CyberAgent, Inc.](https://www.cyberagent.co.jp/en/))
+
+Yoshiki Fujikane is one of the maintainers of [PipeCD](https://pipecd.dev/), a CNCF Sandbox project.
+In addition to developing new features for Kubernetes support in PipeCD,
+Yoshiki actively participates in community management and speaks at various technical conferences.
+
+**Junya:** Why did you decide to participate in the Kubernetes Upstream Training?
+
+**Yoshiki:** At the time I participated, I was still a student.
+I had only briefly worked with EKS, but I thought Kubernetes seemed complex yet cool, and I was casually interested in it.
+Back then, OSS felt like something out of reach, and upstream development for Kubernetes seemed incredibly daunting.
+While I had always been interested in OSS, I didn't know where to start.
+It was during this time that I learned about the Kubernetes Upstream Training and decided to take the challenge of contributing to Kubernetes.
+
+**Junya:** What were your impressions after participating?
+
+**Yoshiki:** I found it extremely valuable as a way to understand what it's like to be part of an OSS community.
+At the time, my English skills weren't very strong, so accessing primary sources of information felt like a big hurdle for me.
+Kubernetes is a very large project, and I didn't have a clear understanding of the overall structure, let alone what was necessary for contributing.
+The upstream training provided a Japanese explanation of the community structure and allowed me to gain hands-on experience with actual contributions.
+Thanks to the guidance I received, I was able to learn how to approach primary sources and use them as entry points for further investigation, which was incredibly helpful.
+This experience made me realize the importance of organizing and reviewing primary sources, and now I often dive into GitHub issues and documentation when something piques my interest.
+As a result, while I am no longer contributing to Kubernetes itself, the experience has been a great foundation for contributing to other projects.
+
+**Junya:** What areas are you currently contributing to, and what are the other projects you're involved in?
+
+**Yoshiki:** Right now, I'm no longer working with Kubernetes, but instead, I'm a maintainer of PipeCD, a CNCF Sandbox project.
+PipeCD is a CD tool that supports GitOps-style deployments for various application platforms.
+The tool originally started as an internal project at CyberAgent.
+With different teams adopting different platforms, PipeCD was developed to provide a unified CD platform with a consistent user experience.
+Currently, it supports Kubernetes, AWS ECS, Lambda, Cloud Run, and Terraform.
+
+**Junya:** What role do you play within the PipeCD team?
+
+**Yoshiki:** I work full-time on improving and developing Kubernetes-related features within the team.
+Since we provide PipeCD as a SaaS internally, my main focus is on adding new features and improving existing ones as part of that support.
+In addition to code contributions, I also contribute by giving talks at various events and managing community meetings to help grow the PipeCD community.
+
+**Junya:** Could you explain what kind of improvements or developments you are working on with regards to Kubernetes?
+
+**Yoshiki:** PipeCD supports GitOps and Progressive Delivery for Kubernetes, so I'm involved in the development of those features.
+Recently, I've been working on features that streamline deployments across multiple clusters.
+
+**Junya:** Have you encountered any challenges while contributing to OSS?
+
+**Yoshiki:** One challenge is developing features that maintain generality while meeting user use cases.
+When we receive feature requests while operating the internal SaaS, we first consider adding features to solve those issues.
+At the same time, we want PipeCD to be used by a broader audience as an OSS tool.
+So, I always think about whether a feature designed for one use case could be applied to another, ensuring the software remains flexible and widely usable.
+
+**Junya:** What are your goals moving forward?
+
+**Yoshiki:** I want to focus on expanding PipeCD's functionality.
+Currently, we are developing PipeCD under the slogan "One CD for All."
+As I mentioned earlier, it supports Kubernetes, AWS ECS, Lambda, Cloud Run, and Terraform, but there are many other platforms out there, and new platforms may emerge in the future.
+For this reason, we are currently developing a plugin system that will allow users to extend PipeCD on their own, and I want to push this effort forward.
+I'm also working on features for multi-cluster deployments in Kubernetes, and I aim to continue making impactful contributions.
+
+**Junya:** Thank you very much!
+
+## Future of Kubernetes upstream training
+
+We plan to continue hosting Kubernetes Upstream Training in Japan and look forward to welcoming many new contributors.
+Our next session is scheduled to take place at the end of November during [CloudNative Days Winter 2024](https://event.cloudnativedays.jp/cndw2024).
+
+Moreover, our goal is to expand these training programs not only in Japan but also around the world.
+[Kubernetes celebrated its 10th anniversary](https://kubernetes.io/blog/2024/06/06/10-years-of-kubernetes/) this year, and for the community to become even more active, it's crucial for people across the globe to continue contributing.
+While Upstream Training is already held in several regions, we aim to bring it to even more places.
+
+We hope that as more people join Kubernetes community and contribute, our community will become even more vibrant!