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 29,000 fellowships to physicians from 138 different countries, to whom more than 3,700 observerships in Austrian and American hospitals have been granted.
 News

Pandemics: Origin, Response, and Preparedness
June 20th marked the conclusion of our extraordinary global health seminar in pandemics, in collaboration with the prestigious Institut Pasteur. From the Central African Republic to Gambia, Madagascar, Senegal, and Vietnam, a total of 37 fellows from 26 countries, including experts from the...

OMI Commits to Bulgaria with MoU Signing
In June, the Open Medical Institute signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Medical University of Varna,...

“The Biggest Eye Opener”: OMI Observerships
In May, fourteen observers visited Austria for an observership in twelve different specialties; twelve observers...

The Importance of Knowledge-Sharing in PM&R
From June 9-11, 2025, Mexico City was home to the first Rehabilitation Medicine seminar of OMI MEX. Led by...

Pandemics: Origin, Response, and Preparedness
June 20th marked the conclusion of our extraordinary global health seminar in pandemics, in collaboration with the prestigious Institut Pasteur. From the Central African Republic to Gambia, Madagascar, Senegal, and Vietnam, a total of 37 fellows from 26 countries,...

OMI Commits to Bulgaria with MoU Signing
In June, the Open Medical Institute signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria. Rector Dr. Dimitar Raykov has firsthand experience with the OMI programs, having attended several orthopedic seminars and observerships over the...

“The Biggest Eye Opener”: OMI Observerships
In May, fourteen observers visited Austria for an observership in twelve different specialties; twelve observers for a one-month clinical stay, one observer for a three-month research observership in Salzburg, and one observer for a two-month research observership in...

The Importance of Knowledge-Sharing in PM&R
From June 9-11, 2025, Mexico City was home to the first Rehabilitation Medicine seminar of OMI MEX. Led by faculty from OMI’s longstanding partner, Weill Cornell Medicine, the seminar gathered an impressive 43 fellows from 5 different countries in Latin America....