What is the GitHub Student Developer Pack?

The GitHub Student Developer Pack is a fantastic free resource available to all students enrolled in a degree-granting program. GitHub has partnered with some of the biggest names in the tech industry to provide students with free access to a wide range of developer tools and services. This pack is designed to help students learn, build, and ship software.

How to Get It

Getting the pack is a straightforward process:

  1. Go to the GitHub Education website: Visit https://education.github.com/pack .
  2. Click on “Sign up for Student Developer Pack”: You’ll be prompted to log in to your GitHub account. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to create one.
  3. Verify your student status: You’ll need to provide proof of your enrollment. This can usually be done by using your university-issued email address. In some cases, you might be asked to provide a student ID or other documentation.
  4. Wait for approval: The verification process is usually quick, and you’ll receive an email once you’re approved.

What’s Inside?

The pack is loaded with valuable tools. Here are a few highlights that I’ve found particularly useful:

  • GitHub Pro: Get all the benefits of a GitHub Pro account for free.
  • GitHub Copilot Pro: Free access to GitHub Copilot Pro subscription.
  • Microsoft Azure: Get $100 in Azure credits to use for cloud services, including virtual machines, web apps, and more.
  • DigitalOcean: $200 in platform credit for 1 year.
  • Namecheap: A free .me domain name for one year.
  • JetBrains IDEs: Free subscriptions to all JetBrains IDEs, including PyCharm, IntelliJ IDEA, and WebStorm.
  • Heroku: A credit of $13 USD per month for 24 months.
  • DataCamp: Three months of free access to DataCamp.
  • MongoDB: $50 in MongoDB Atlas Credits, plus access to MongoDB Compass and MongoDB University, including free certification.
  • FrontendMasters: Free 6-months access to all courses and workshops.
  • 1Password: Free for one year, including 1Password Developer Tools.
  • Stripe: Waived transaction fees on the first $1000 in revenue processed.
  • Notion: Free access to the Notion Education plan, which includes unlimited AI responses.
  • .TECH: One standard .TECH domain free for one year.

This is just a small sample of what’s available. The full list of offers is extensive and covers everything from cloud hosting and domain names to developer tools and online courses.

GitHub Experiences

Beyond the individual tools, the GitHub Student Developer Pack also includes “Experiences.” These are curated bundles of pack partner products, GitHub tools, and other resources designed to help you learn new skills and make the most of the Student Developer Pack. These experiences provide a structured way to learn and apply your new tools to real-world projects.

Here are the available experiences:

  • Intro to Copilot: Learn the basics of GitHub Copilot and how to get started with it.
  • Understanding Markdown: A guide to using Markdown effectively on GitHub.
  • Intro to GitHub: Learn the fundamentals of the GitHub Flow.
  • GitHub Foundations Certification: Prepare for and take the GitHub Foundations Certification exam.
  • Intro to Open Source: Learn about open source, how to contribute, and how to build a career in it.
  • AI Prompting & Technical Writing: Improve your technical writing skills.
  • Tools: Security and Monitoring: Keep your code secure and your infrastructure monitored.
  • Career Readiness: Prepare for a career in the tech industry.
  • Intro to Web Dev: Learn the basics of web development and build your own website.
  • Tools: Hackathon in the Cloud: Resources to help you organize and run your own hackathon.
  • Aspiring Creatives: Develop your design and collaboration skills.
  • Data Science & Machine Learning: Analyze, collaborate, and harness the power of data.
  • Mobile App Development: Design, build, test, and deploy your own mobile application.
  • Developer Operations: Learn about the practices and tools of DevOps.
  • Virtual Event Kit: Resources to make running online events simple and accessible.
  • Explore GitHub: Guidance and resources to get you started with exploring the GitHub platform.
  • Profile README: A tutorial on creating a profile README to introduce yourself to the GitHub community.
  • Codespaces: Get started with GitHub Codespaces.
  • Intro to Javascript: An interactive tutorial to help you write your first lines of Javascript code.

My Experience

As a computer science student, the GitHub Student Developer Pack offers incredible value. Here are some of the items I’ve found most beneficial:

GitHub Copilot Pro

Activating my free GitHub Copilot Pro subscription was a priority. Having an AI pair programmer integrated into my workflow is incredibly powerful, helping me write code faster and explore new solutions.

Cloud Hosting with DigitalOcean and Microsoft Azure

The $200 in DigitalOcean credits and $100 in Microsoft Azure credits are a significant benefit. These credits provide valuable opportunities to gain hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure, which is essential for modern development.

Is It Worth It?

Absolutely! The GitHub Student Developer Pack is an incredible resource that can save you a lot of money and give you access to professional-grade tools. If you’re a student, I highly recommend taking the time to sign up. It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills and build amazing things.

🎒 Github Student Developer Pack