Ask Slashdot: How To Start and Manage a University LUG?

New submitter ckugblenu writes "I'm an undergrad computer engineering student in Ghana with some Linux knowledge under my belt. How do I start a Linux users group at my university and what kind of activities should occur? The engineering department is willing to provide meeting space, but that's about it. The other computer groups are into mobile web and not as specialized as I would like. How do I successfully achieve it and build a following, since it will be the first in the university?"

Be active and committed

[multiben]

If there is one rule to running a successful group of any kind it is to be committed to running it on schedule, without fail. In the early days, you may get 2 people to turn up. You may get none. Don't stop, keep hosting it. Just sit there and read a magazine or write a cool script. Getting past the early discouragement you may encounter can be hard, so be ready for it. Give yourself at least a year.

As for activities, ask the early joining members what they want to do. If you engage people and include their input in the direction of your group then they will remain members for a long time to come and they will be inspired to recruit others because they will be proud of the group.

Good luck!

A few things to keep in mind ...

[MacTO]

University culture, resources, and policies varies from place to place. This means that the best place to seek advice is from other student groups in your university.

Once you know where you fit into the university, build an executive to manage the club. They will manage relations with the university and department, recruit new memebers, and organize events. The executive should include students at all stages of the program simply to prevent the thing from dying off when a group of key members graduate.

Remember to keep things simple. Big events and projects can be fun to plan, but members will burn out if you do it too often. Also, keep the jobs small. If your members are giving talks, make them lightning talks. If you're doing an installfest, promote it in your department (rather than university-wide).

Meetings to attract members need to have a focus (installfest, programming with gcc, introduction to blender). Meetings that are focussed on existing membership can be a free-for-all (bring your computer, a project, and some food).