>GSoC isn't entirely about completing a >project: the scope of a project may just be laying groundwork or a >foundation for a later project which involves the porting.
Based on the experience last time, I think it is better to have simpler projects that are straightforward, self-contained (but modular), and can actually be completed. They should not require a lot of specialised support, or ask a student to do something we haven't normally attempted ourselves. I don't think those characteristics make a project less interesting or challenging, but they do help both with supervision and providing the satisfaction of actually having got something useful done by the end of the summer. The GSoC project is quite a public thing for a student (though last time a few seemed not to realise that), and I know that potential employers look at them.
