The OpenMRS Internship Program (OIP)

OpenMRS, with support from IDRC and WHO, is offering three- to six-month mentored projects and stipends to open source developers working in developing countries, starting in December 2007.

What is it?

The OpenMRS Internship Program (OIP) is a supported mentoring program in which projects are offered to interested open source developers to help them contribute code to OpenMRS, an open source electronic medical record application for developing countries. The aim of the project is to attract open source developers, particularly those from or working in developing countries such as Africa, in the ongoing development of OpenMRS, and to provide a stipend to enable participants to devote the required amount of time to the work. The program is funded by a grant from the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and is modeled on the original Google Summer of Code™ and successful participation of OpenMRS in the 2007 GSoC project. See the [Projects|OpenMRS project page] for details of available projects.

How is this program different than the Southern Summer of Code we've heard about?

It's not. It's the same program, with a more appropriate name to reflect our intention to make the opportunity available year round. :)

How it works

OpenMRS projects are listed on the OpenMRS project page and interested applicants are invited to submit proposals based on these proposals. Applicants may also submit their own proposals on new or innovative ideas and OpenMRS will strive to match selected projects with a competent mentor. A selection panel considers projects competitively at published times and informs the successful applicants who agrees that the scope of work and project plan with the assigned mentor and begins work shortly thereafter. Successful applicants, receive part of the stipend at the beginning of the program, part upon successful evaluation at the mid-term, and the remaining stipend upon successful evaluation at the end of the program. All working code must be committed to the OpenMRS code repository under the OpenMRS Public License (http://license.openmrs.org). The OIP is administered by the South African Medical Research Council (MRC)

Who can apply

The OIP is open to any developer who is both interested in learning about open source programming and able to devote the required amount of time to complete the project under the specified conditions in the agreed period. The emphasis of the OIP is on applicants from or working in developing countries.

Stipends

We are committed to the success of all of our interns, and believe it’s important to provide the resources needed to allow for focus on software development. Stipends are therefore provided so interns can dedicate a majority of their time to work upon on their specific project, interact with mentor(s) and fellow interns, and generally participate in the OpenMRS community. Stipends are paid out in three parts only after mutually agreed upon project goals are met. Interns who fail to meet goals or receive unsatisfactory evaluations, may forfeit the remainder of their stipend.

• 4 000 ZAR (~500 USD) on acceptance of the project and agreement on project timeline between intern and mentor(s)
• 13 000 ZAR (~2000 USD) on reaching a successful midterm milestone
• 13 000 ZAR (~2000 USD) on successful completion of the project according to the agreed job scope.

Interns can receive these stipends in a currency of their choice, but will receive South African Rand (ZAR) if otherwise unspecified. Projects may be between three and six months in duration.

How do I apply

Your application should include a motivation (why you would like to do this particular project, and the reason you're the best individual to do the project) alongside a specific project proposal. Your proposal should have a summary and should include details of how you intend to approach the problem and carry out the work including a project timeline which should be between two and six months in duration. The proposal should also include details of your academic, industry, and/or open source development experience, and any other details you think are relevant, such as your development methodology. The motivation and proposal should not exceed 10 A4 pages in length and should be e-mailed in Open Office format or as a text file to apply@openmrs.org by 5pm (South African time - GMT-2hrs) on 17 December 2007.

What are the deadlines and timelines

(all deadlines are at 5pm South African time (GMT -2 hrs)

• 17 December 2007 – Deadline for proposals
• 21 December 2007 - Notification of awards
• 28 December 2007 - Mentors and interns finalize scope of work and timeline
• 1 January 2008 - Begin work Projects

Resources

• See the OpenMRS Internship FAQ for answers to frequently asked questions
• See the list of available projects and mentors for possible projects for the 2007 OIP
• See the OIP Getting Started page.