From 2011 to 2026: Continuing a Decade of Growth in Open Neuroscience

Since 2011, the INCF network has participated in Google Summer of Code (GSoC), supporting contributors in building open-source tools for neuroscience. Over the years, this involvement has grown into something more than a seasonal program. It has become a sustained effort to develop, refine, and maintain software that serves the global neuroscience community.

In 2026, we are continuing that work.

We are pleased to welcome 23 contributors, working across 23 projects from 21 collaborating open-source organizations, supported by a diverse and international group of mentors.

More than a yearly program

Between 2016 and 2025, INCF has paired 195 contributors with 293 mentors, building a strong foundation of collaboration across institutions, domains, and disciplines.

What distinguishes INCF’s participation in GSoC is not only the number of projects each year, but their continuity.

Many projects return year after year, evolving beyond their original scope. What begins as a summer project often becomes:

• A maintained codebase

• A tool adopted by researchers

• Part of a larger ecosystem of interoperable neuroscience software

This continuity reflects a core principle: GSoC is not just about starting projects; it is about helping them grow into sustainable resources for the neuroscience community.

This year’s projects: continuing and expanding

The 2026 cohort reflects both new ideas and sustained development across a wide range of areas in neuroscience and open science infrastructure. These projects are not isolated efforts; they build on prior work and contribute to evolving ecosystems of tools, platforms, and research workflows.

Several projects focus on advancing core neuroscience methods and platforms:

• QC-Studio is evolving into a scalable quality control platform for MRI datasets, combining automated metrics, structured workflows, and AI-assisted guidance to improve reproducibility.

• PCNtoolkit is being extended to support longitudinal normative modeling, enabling researchers to study how brain data changes over time.

• HNN-Core is being refactored to improve computational efficiency and biological realism for large-scale neural simulations.

• Experanto is expanding to support large-scale neurodata integration and human-readable behavioral filtering.

• NiMARE is being optimized with adaptive statistical monitoring to improve efficiency in large neuroimaging analyses.

• The Virtual Brain ecosystem continues to grow with new JupyterLab visualization tools and more biologically realistic modeling approaches.

• iEEG platforms are advancing toward more robust clinical and research applications through integrated analysis and visualization.

• NeuroSim introduces new approaches to modeling brain dynamics using network control theory.

Other projects focus on building shared infrastructure and scalable research systems:

• ActiveVision is developing a benchmarking ecosystem for evaluating goal-directed vision models.

• DevoGraph is being extended with explainable spatio-temporal modeling for developmental neuroscience.

• AnalySim is improving collaborative data and notebook workflows for research environments.

GSoC projects also explore new forms of interaction and creativity:

• GestureCap projects are building expressive systems for mapping gestures to sound.

• HarmonyHub is evolving into a more robust music education platform with real-time feedback systems.

• BreathState is expanding into a cross-platform biofeedback system integrating physiological data and immersive visualization.

A significant portion of this year’s work focuses on strengthening the underlying infrastructure of open neuroscience:

• EBRAINS projects are improving modular software environments and implementing DevSecOps pipelines.

• CBRAIN is becoming more accessible through an improved command-line interface for distributed computing.

• Brian2CUDA is advancing toward production readiness with improved performance and usability.

• LORIS is being strengthened through improvements in reliability and maintainability.

• The ImageJ Active Segmentation platform is being accelerated using parallel computing techniques to handle large-scale imaging data more efficiently.

• SciCommons continues to evolve as a platform for scientific discovery, discussion, and organization, incorporating AI-assisted tools and improved accessibility.

Why this matters

Across all of these efforts, a clear pattern emerges:

Many of these projects did not begin this year. They are being extended, refined, and integrated into broader ecosystems of tools and platforms that support real research workflows.

This continuity is what defines INCF’s approach to Google Summer of Code: not just launching projects, but supporting their long-term growth and impact in neuroscience.

A global mentoring community

Behind each project is a network of mentors who guide contributors through both technical challenges and open-source collaboration.

Mentorship remains central to INCF’s approach:

• Connecting contributors with experienced developers and researchers

• Supporting integration into existing communities

• Ensuring contributions align with long-term project goals

This collaborative model is key to sustaining projects beyond the GSoC timeline.

Looking ahead

Over the coming months, contributors will work closely with mentors to:

• Extend existing tools

• Introduce new features

• Strengthen the foundations of open neuroscience software

As in previous years, many of these projects are expected to continue evolving beyond the summer and contribute to a growing ecosystem of open, interoperable tools for neuroscience.

Follow the journey

In the coming weeks, we will be sharing:

• Contributor spotlights

• Project deep dives

• Stories from long-running projects that began in GSoC and continue to grow today

Stay tuned as we follow this year’s contributors and the projects they are helping to build.

About INCF and GSoC

The INCF network has participated in Google Summer of Code since 2011, pairing contributors with mentors across its global community to support open-source development in neuroscience. Contributors receive stipends through the GSoC program while gaining experience in collaborative software development and scientific research.