As a software developer candidate continuing my internship at Akasya AI, I strive to learn, observe, and fulfill the tasks assigned to me. The dynamics, communication style, and energy of the team I am part of help me start each day positively, while in the projects we work on in the field of educational technologies, we always manage to find the most accurate and effective approach.
This positive working environment and motivation to learn increased my desire to make a tangible contribution during my internship, leading me to this development work for an open-source project. As a result, I would like to share with you how I added Turkish language support to the newly released Windows version (v3.10.1) of Safe Exam Browser (SEB), a secure way of conducting e-exams, and how this contribution motivated me.
What is Safe Exam Browser and Why is it Important?
Safe Exam Browser is an open-source project developed by ETH Zurich, one of Switzerland’s prestigious universities. This browser prevents cheating by putting the computer into “kiosk” mode during exams, touching the lives of thousands of students. SEB runs locally on a computer and connects to a web-based Learning Management System (LMS) or an e-exam system.
The creators of SEB describe it as follows:
“Safe Exam Browser is a web browser environment to carry out e-assessments safely. The software turns any computer temporarily into a secure workstation. It controls access to resources like system functions, other websites and applications and prevents unauthorized resources being used during an exam.”
SEB is actively used by many universities and institutions in Turkey and seems likely to be used even more frequently in the near future. While deeply examining Safe Exam Browser, I noticed that the new Windows architecture did not yet have Turkish language support. An exam is already a stressful experience for a student, so I thought it was important not to add the burden of “dealing with menus in a foreign language” on top of that. Contributing to this project was not just about adding code—it was about improving the user experience for Turkish students and exam supervisors.
Coding Process and Translation Phase
The most important starting point of my contribution was reviewing the processes of previously added translations. I had to be meticulous so that SEB’s developers could easily integrate the code I wrote. Using the original English text as the basis, I began translating it into Turkish.
I translated hundreds of lines of warnings, button texts, and error messages in a way that preserved their technical meaning while making them easy for Turkish students to understand. I compiled the project locally to test whether Turkish characters (ğ, ş, i, ö…) displayed correctly and whether the texts fit properly into the buttons.
I submitted my changes to the main project with Pull Request #1277.
After an exciting wait, my PR was reviewed by the project managers, approved, and I received the “Merged” notification!
For those interested, here is my PR link: http://github.com/SafeExamBrowser/seb-win-refactoring/pull/1277
This experience was not just a technical translation task for me; it was also a great source of motivation. Achieving such success in the very first month of my professional experience gave my career development a wonderful boost.
As part of my internship, having my contribution included in a release that will be used by thousands of students across the country was an invaluable feeling.
Contributing to open source instills the confidence of “I am part of this ecosystem, and I can produce too.” It doesn’t matter whether you are an intern or a junior developer, nor whether your contribution is small or large. With the right solution or observation, you can impact projects worldwide.
I hope that universities and students using Safe Exam Browser will enjoy a much smoother experience with the new version. I would also like to thank my internship supervisors for their support throughout this process.
If you would like to explore or contribute to the project, you can visit the GitHub repository: https://github.com/SafeExamBrowser/seb-win-refactoring
And if you want to contribute to open source, don’t hesitate. Sometimes a small touch can make life easier for thousands of users.