As we prepare to open the last few doors of our Advent calendar, I think it’s a good point to consider our future. A lot of the speakers we’ve featured so far have many years of experience in Drupal, what about new blood?
As a special treat, today’s door features not one talk, but two!
The first one, from DrupalCon Vienna, was a discussion between Hilmar Hallbjörnsson, Jean-Paul Vosmeer, Rachel Lawson, and Lenny Moskalyk, which gave it very much a BoF (“Birds of a feather”) feel, which seems appropriate as it was a BoF the previous that kicked off the initiative they were talking about.
The presentation introduced the Drupal Open University Initiative, which aims to bring Drupal education into universities by open-sourcing high-quality teaching materials and fostering new generations of Drupal developers. The motivation comes from a clear skills gap: many computer science graduates have strong front-end knowledge but little back-end experience. Rather than agencies bearing the cost of training junior developers after graduation, the initiative proposes teaching Drupal directly in universities, using shared, up-to-date materials created by experienced practitioners. This approach benefits students, universities, and agencies alike, while strengthening the Drupal community.
A key theme was addressing misconceptions about generative AI replacing junior developers. The speakers emphasized that junior developers are essential to the long-term health of the profession, as they grow into senior roles and develop the critical thinking and system-level understanding that AI cannot replace. Drupal is positioned not only as a technical tool but as a practical vehicle for teaching broader concepts such as back-end development, content modeling, APIs, security, and system architecture. By using Drupal in education—sometimes as the primary subject, sometimes as the platform supporting other learning goals—students gain real-world skills and are more likely to continue using Drupal professionally.
The initiative has already gained strong momentum through community collaboration, global outreach, and hands-on programs like Drupal in a Day, which lowers the barrier to entry and introduces newcomers to Drupal in an accessible, engaging way. Universities, agencies, and community members are encouraged to participate by spreading the word, teaching courses, hosting events, and supporting students. Ultimately, the initiative seeks to build a sustainable pipeline of diverse, well-prepared developers while deepening the connection between academia, industry, and the Drupal open-source community.
The second talk was by Hilmar Hallbjörnsson, at DrupalCamp Scotland. He gave a great summary of progress of the Drupal Open University Initiative so far, starting from the BoF in Barcelona. While there was some overlap with the discussion from Vienna, I think there was enough new material to keep both talks interesting.
Since the initial launch of the Drupal Open University Initiative, the focus has shifted from a single university course to a coordinated, global community effort. What began as one Drupal-based course at Reykjavík University has evolved into a shared initiative with a formal project presence, regular meetings, and active contributors from multiple countries.
On the final day of DrupalCon Vienna, Drupal in a Day was successfully piloted, introducing Drupal to over 60 new students. There are already plans for this to become a standard feature of future DrupalCons and other events. It will be a first experience of Drupal for many new people, some of whom will see the possibility of a career in Drupal. It will also open opportunities to expose people to teaching parts of the Open University curriculum.
One proposal for future DrupalCons is to have Drupal in a Day at the beginning of DrupalCon, then encourage participants to take part in the rest of the event, and especially have them join in with contribution day, where the mentoring team could help them begin their contribution journey.
I look forward to Drupal Open University courses being given in many universities and colleges around the world, as a great way of introducing students to open source development in general, and Drupal in particular, as a viable career option.
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