GSoC 2026: Intro + next steps

[XBastille]

Hi sbi team, I'm @XBastille , CS undergrad and AI Researcher specialized in Computer Vision and Generative Models (diffusion / VAEs).

I’m planning to apply for GSoC 2026 with sbi (NumFOCUS) and I’m most interested in:
Integrate Azula Library for Diffusion Sampling (FMPE/NPSE sampling backend). I’d love to discuss and align on scope/design choices for this idea!!!

Recent contributions (merged PRs):

• Fix: Improve error message for x_o shape mismatch #1759
• docs: add code examples to trainer class docstrings #1763
• fix: skip GPU tests on MPS devices instead of failing #1769

Questions (to align early before implementing anything substantial):

1. For the integration, do you prefer starting with an SBIDenoiser adapter first, or a minimal AzulaDiffuser wrapper end-to-end?
2. Where should shape/batch-convention handling live (adapter vs separate utility), given the expected “shape broadcasting utilities” deliverable?
3. The expected outcomes mention benchmarking Azula samplers against sbi’s current ODE solver on two-moons, SLCP, and Gaussian mixture. Which of these benchmark tasks would you prefer I start with for the first proof-of-concept, and should the initial benchmark emphasize sample quality (e.g., C2ST/MMD) or compute efficiency (runtime / NFE / number of steps)?
4. What’s the best next “de-risking” contribution: (a) add one Azula sampler (e.g., DDIM) behind a flag, (b) benchmark scaffolding, or (c) the adapter + shape utilities first?

Also, I tried joining the Discord via the “get access here” link, but the invite seems expired on my end, could someone share an updated invite? SBI_Discord_Server

Thanks!

[janfb]

Thanks @XBastille for the introduction and for your interest in GSoC with sbi.

Please use the link from the README, Discord Server, the one in the discussion is expired - sorry!

Feel free to reach out to me on Discord then.

Cheers,
Jan

[XBastille]

ah! my bad, anyways I have successfully joined the server, so thank you for that!! and I have DM'ed you.....

[XBastille]

ah! my bad, anyways I have successfully joined the server