Open Medical Institute
The Open Medical Institute (OMI) is an educational initiative for medical professionals which aims to improve healthcare on a global scale. Fellows trained by the OMI are equipped to significantly enhance healthcare delivery in their home countries. The program was founded in 1993 by the American Austrian Foundation (AAF) and the Open Society Foundations (OSF) in close collaboration with physicians from Weill Cornell Medicine. Over the past decades, many leading medical institutions in the United States and Europe have joined this initiative by providing highly committed faculty who donate their time and expertise, sharing knowledge and experience with colleagues from around the world. Since 1993, the OMI has awarded more than 31,000 fellowships to physicians from 141 different countries, to whom more than 3,800 observerships in Austrian and American hospitals have been granted.
News
Treating Thoracic, Head and Neck Cancers, One Case at a Time
This week at the OMI, we hosted one of our annual CME accredited oncology courses, this time with a focus on Thoracic, Head, and Neck cancers in partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Areas of concentration included lung, salivary gland, aerodigestive track, and thyroid...
Five Years of Family Medicine in Mexico
From October 5-7, 2026, we welcomed 44 fellows from 11 Latin American countries to Mexico City for the OMI MEX...
Celebrating Medical Research that Improves Children’s Lives
This year’s Vienna School of Medicine Gala took place on October 7, 2026, and marked its tenth anniversary....
Celebrating Births and Birthdays in Kyrgyzstan
Maternal and fetal medicine is an extremely prevalent topic in Kyrgyzstan, where preterm birth complications are...
Treating Thoracic, Head and Neck Cancers, One Case at a Time
This week at the OMI, we hosted one of our annual CME accredited oncology courses, this time with a focus on Thoracic, Head, and Neck cancers in partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Areas of concentration included lung, salivary gland,...
Five Years of Family Medicine in Mexico
From October 5-7, 2026, we welcomed 44 fellows from 11 Latin American countries to Mexico City for the OMI MEX seminar in Family Medicine: Mother and Child Health. This year's course was the fifth consecutive family medicine seminar in Mexico, reaching a new record...
Celebrating Medical Research that Improves Children’s Lives
This year’s Vienna School of Medicine Gala took place on October 7, 2026, and marked its tenth anniversary. Friends and supporters of the Open Medical Institute (OMI) gathered at the historic lecture hall of the Josephinum Medical History Museum to explore the...
Celebrating Births and Birthdays in Kyrgyzstan
Maternal and fetal medicine is an extremely prevalent topic in Kyrgyzstan, where preterm birth complications are still in the top 5 most common causes of death for women. From October 9-10, 2026, the OMI held a satellite symposium in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan at the...