Waugh Partners have released the 2008 Australian Open Source Industry & Community Report. It’s some interesting reading, if you’re interested in a clear snapshot of the Australian open source industry and community… (which I am).

One of the key takeaways from this survey, in skimming it briefly, is the importance of University and forming a relationship with open source:

Time spent at university correlates closely with the period in which respondents began participating in the open source community, particularly among the younger age groups. Exposure to Open Source platforms and communities during university years appears to be habit-forming.

Also interesting — the amount of respondents who ranked their open source skills as “self-taught.” Almost 100% of the respondents ranked “self-taught” as their first, second, or third option (next responses by rank: mailing lists, software projects, and University), with about 70% ranking it first.

What does that tell me? That programs around universities are very, very important to develop a relationship with potential developers.

Congrats to the folks at Waugh partners on a very informative report. OK, who’s going to step up with something like this for the other continents? Anybody?