OpenMRS is committed to building a diverse, vibrant, and robust community where knowledge and experience is expanded through practical opportunities for anyone and everyone. Many developers and technical writers come to our community via Google mentorship programs. Our aim is to provide opportunities for mid-level product managers, UX designers, developers, and community managers to advance their skills in specific technical areas and gain experience through real work that are in demand by implementers.
How does it work?
Fellows develop advanced skill sets by contributing to an OpenMRS squad working on one or more community projects. Each Fellow receives the support and guidance of Fellowship Mentors and other technical experts working together on an active squad or project.
2022 Fellowship Opportunities
OpenMRS is currently looking for 2-3 talented individuals interested in serving as Fellows in the following areas:
- Product Management | UX Design
- Development (Frontend, Backend/Data Exchange, QA)
- Community Management & Operations
Fellows are expected to dedicate ~550 hours over approximately 8 months, starting o/a March 1, 2022.
Fellowship Responsibilities
Successful OpenMRS Fellows learn quickly, show initiative, follow through, and manage relationships with their mentors and advisors. They model and promote community values, our Code of Conduct, and a culture of mentorship.
All Fellows are expected to:
- Develop and follow an individual fellowship plan with guidance from their mentor & fellowship program administrators
- Share fellowship highlights, knowledge, and observations twice a month via a fellowship blog.
- Complete a fellowship project in collaboration with one or more community squads
- Complete quarterly and final fellowship evaluations
- Follow through on agreed upon tasks and commitments with your designated fellow mentor
- Effectively communicate with community members openly and transparently using community communication tools
- Present project progress via community forums and showcases
What Product Management Fellows Do
Product Managers are responsible for choosing the right problems to go after, and then guiding their team to successful outcomes. They help their team understand users’ pressing problems and work together to deliver a solution. Through this fellowship, Fellows will go beyond Project Management and will learn how to apply the critical Product foundations of Discovery, Development, Delivery, and Communication. They will meet with end-users to understand their needs (Discovery) and will become proficient in conducting user research. They will represent the voice of users by Communicating needs and problems to the whole team, and ensure that Development moves forward smoothly by supporting Sprint and Roadmap planning. Finally, they will launch solutions with real users and monitor their impact (Delivery).
Possible specialization: UX Design
PM Fellows will have an opportunity to hone UX Design skills.
What Development Fellows Do
Development Fellows are skilled coders who are on their way to becoming expert OpenMRS developers. They have experience with the OpenMRS tech stack and can handle moderate to complex issues.
Possible specializations
Development Fellows will enhance their development skills in one of two areas: frontend or backend/tooling development. While all development fellows are expected to enhance their quality assurance engineering skills, it is also possible to specialize in quality assurance engineering. Based on the Fellow’s current skills & interest, Development Fellows will be assigned a mentor and work closely with the team or squad (Fronted Squad, OCL for OpenMRS Squad, Platform Team, Analytics Squad, Quality Assurance Support Team, etc)
What Community Management Fellows Do
Community managers often wear multiple hats. Through this fellowship, Community Management Fellows will expand their current skills and experience by providing program and operational support to a variety of OpenMRS community initiatives; assisting with Fellowship Program and grant administration; assisting with community recognition efforts; telling our story via social media, blogs, our website, and reports;
Possible specialization: Capacity Building
A Community Management Fellow may choose to hone their skills in capacity building by assisting with the design, improvement, and curation of capacity building materials and resources; facilitating onboarding or skill building sessions; providing program support to OpenMRS-supported capacity development technical track activities and mentorship programs (ie: Fellowship Program); and actively promoting a culture of mentorship.
Successful Community Management Fellows have strong interpersonal, communication, and critical thinking skills, and are naturally curious and empathetic.
Who is qualified to be an OpenMRS Fellow?
Fellows can be any mid- to senior-level technical project/product manager, developer, quality assurance specialist, or program manager who is interested in expanding their knowledge and skills.
We’re specifically interested in candidates who have the following qualifications (depending on their focus area):
- 4-5 years of experience (or Stage 3 or higher)
- Experience with processes, tools, and technologies used by the OpenMRS community (Jira, GitHub, React, FHIR, Bamboo/Travis, Cypress/Selenium, Wordpress)
- Demonstrates initiative to identify different problems and proposes thoughtful solutions for those problems in a team setting
- Dedication to the OpenMRS mission, vision, and values
- Open to exploring and applying open source principles
- Able to work independently and as a part of a team
- Good communication skills with team members and with guests on team calls
About Stipends
We are committed to the success of all of our Fellows and Fellow Mentors. This success relies on our ability to provide sufficient mentorship and guidance - and the ability to dedicate sufficient time and focus on their projects. OpenMRS Inc offers stipends to Fellows who satisfactorily reach milestones set out in a Fellowship Plan.
How to Apply
Fellowship candidates are asked to complete the Fellowship Program Application and submit a cover letter and CV. The cover letter should include:
- type of fellowship you are applying for (Development, Product Management | UX Design, Community Management & Operations)
- experience working on open source projects,
- your technical experience, including links to code and writing samples
- professional development goals, and
- any other information that you believe is relevant.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with priority given to applicants who submit their applications by February 5, 2021.
For more information about the OpenMRS Fellowship Program, please visit our Wiki.
Is your organization interested in hosting a fellow or mentor? Please contact @jennifer for more information.