Objectives

1. To demonstrate how Malawi is using a multi-partner and multi-funded approach to develop, implement, and support a national implementation of OpenMRS.
2. To expand the OpenMRS community practices to support quality assurance processes (i.e. release testing, stakeholder acceptance testing, module gardening team, etc.)
3. To identify the ways to measure a “successful high quality implementation” of OpenMRS and why it is important to go beyond just software development features and bug fixes.
4. To understand ways in which OpenMRS outputs can be used to positively impact the quality of clinical care and the quality of programs that support care.

Who should attend

• People new to OpenMRS who want to connect to others using the platform around the world
• Experienced OpenMRS implementers who want to share their experiences and learn from others
• OpenMRS platform developers – anyone building systems to integrate with or extend OpenMRS
• Developers of related health and healthcare application software
• Health practitioners, researchers and publishers
• You!

Why you should attend

This event provides an opportunity for developers to collaborate and improve their technical skills in OpenMRS, implementers to share their best practices from implementations, and users to propose and prioritize their top features in future releases of the software. The event will also include visits to OpenMRS implementation sites along with a discussion afterward for participants to share their experience and suggestions

Conference Schedule

The conference will be structured in a semi-unconference format – each conference date will comprise with a number of pre-determined sessions/events, followed by open slots for the audience to propose sessions of their choice.

• For the events scheduled, visit:

Propose session ideas

It’s an unconference! If you’ve never been to an unconference before, imagine a traditional conference with incredibly useful chats with colleagues in the small breaks between dry presentations with one person talking in from of a room of people checking their email and then take away the dry presentations and fill the conference with the incredibly useful interactions. That’s your unconference, where attendees determine the agenda.

If you’re attending OMRS17, start sharing your ideas now for sessions you’d like to see at the conference:

• Unconference Sessions: One-hour group discussions on a topic of interest to the group. Have a suggestion for something that should be discussed in one of these sessions? Submit your session idea(s) at ….
• Lightning Talks: An hour-long session where a dozen presenters each get no more than 5 minutes to stand up a present to the group. We get introduced to some of the great work the community  is doing in the lightning talk session. These are a great way to introduce work or ideas to the community to spark greater interest. If you have something you’d like to share, make sure you can fit your ideas within the strictly enforced 5-minute limit and propose your lightning talk at ….
• Demonstrations. The demonstrations session is an opportunity for people to set up a “booth” (e.g., a laptop ± any materials) in a room and demonstrate their ideas/work to small groups visiting each demonstration. You would end up giving a brief presentation multiple times to small groups of attendees with the opportunity to answer their questions and discover new collaborative opportunities. If you want to demonstrate your work, register your interest at ….

Hackathon

The traditional OpenMRS hackathon will be held during the 2 days after the event, 15-16 December, 2017. The hackathon is free for developers to attend, but separate registration is required because space is limited.

If you are attending the OMRS17 Hackathon, join the discussion on hackathon ideas at ….

Traveling to Malawi

Visas and invitation letters

If you require an invitation letter please contact the secretariat at omrs17@openmrs.org as soon as possible. Kindly visit this Link to secure a Malawi Visa as soon as possible!

Malawi Contact Person:

Vaccinations

Recommended and required vaccinations can be found on the CDC website.

Travel Grants

Event Sponsorships

Sponsorship packages begin at $1,000 and $2,500 USD can be customized based on the goals and available budget of the sponsoring organization.

Sponsorship packages can include the following:

• Complimentary conference registrations
• Sponsor ribbon
• Prominent sign recognition in conference registration area
• Name or logo on screen before plenary sessions
• Named sponsor for lightning talk or cultural entertainment event
• Named sponsor for coffee and tea breaks
• Recognition during keynote talks
• Organization listed on “conference sponsor” section on website including logo and
• website link
• Logo on conference t-shirt or lanyard

We have tiered sponsorship packages that can be seen here.

Please contact omrs17@openmrs.org for more information.

Progress

Operational Plan: Progress of Planning Committee