SolDevelo took part in Google Summer of Code 2024 as mentors, fostering collaborative growth and innovation within the open-source community. This year, our efforts focused on Connect for Life, a healthcare solution built on OpenMRS. By guiding and supporting young developers, SolDevelo aims to advance Connect for Life’s capabilities while promoting open-source contributions. Our mentorship not only nurtures new talent but also strengthens our commitment to developing and promoting powerful, sustainable technology, especially in the healthcare sector.
Google Summer of Code
Google Summer of Code is an annual global program that encourages open-source development by connecting organizations with developers from around the world. While often seen as a way for students to gain experience, the program is primarily a catalyst for community collaboration and innovation.
The true strength of GSoC lies in its ability to bring together diverse contributors to solve complex challenges. Open-source organizations benefit from fresh perspectives, new ideas, and the collective expertise of a global community. By fostering this environment, GSoC enables collective problem-solving, where contributors collaboratively address technical issues, improve existing solutions, and develop new features.
Additionally, GSoC promotes innovation by encouraging experimentation and iteration. Participants work on real-world projects under the mentorship of experienced developers, contributing to projects that have meaningful, long-term impacts. This continuous exchange of knowledge and skills strengthens open-source ecosystems and drives advancements across industries.
Ultimately, GSoC helps sustain open-source projects by attracting new talent, encouraging long-term collaboration, and building solutions that benefit communities and organizations worldwide.
Connect for Life
Connect for Life is a digital health platform designed to improve patient care and support healthcare delivery. Built on the OpenMRS framework, it enables healthcare providers to track patient data, monitor treatment adherence, and manage health interventions more effectively. Connect for Life is a registered Digital Public Good.
Originally, it was based on the MOTECH platform, however a new, OpenMRS-based version was born out of collaboration between SolDevelo and Johnson & Johnson (JnJ). Thus, Connect for Life represents a partnership between the corporate and open-source worlds. Through this collaboration, Connect for Life has become a vital tool for enhancing healthcare delivery, offering a scalable and adaptable platform that can be customized to meet the needs of various health programs.
As a distribution of OpenMRS, Connect for Life taps into an established ecosystem of developers and healthcare professionals, ensuring continuous growth and innovation. Google Summer of Code is one of many instances where open-source software shines bright and develops fast thanks to the shared effort of many.
GSoC 2024: SolDevelo and Connect for Life
As a long-time contributors to both OpenMRS and GSoC, during this year’s edition of the event, SolDevelo guided two key projects aimed at enhancing Connect for Life’s integration with OpenMRS:
UI for SMS Module
The UI for SMS Module project focused on creating a more intuitive user interface for the SMS communication module. By enabling streamlined messaging between healthcare providers and patients, this feature empowers clinicians to send and manage automated health messages, contributing to better patient engagement.
UI for Messages Module
Complementing the SMS module, the UI for Messages Module project developed a comprehensive messaging interface within the platform. It offers improved management of notifications and messages, ensuring effective communication and coordination between healthcare teams.
The Results
These two initiatives not only enhanced the functionality and the comfort of use of Connect for Life, but also played a significant role in facilitating the platform’s transition to newer versions of OpenMRS. By modernizing the user interfaces and aligning them with updated OpenMRS standards, SolDevelo’s work ensures long-term sustainability and scalability.
SolDevelo’s mentorship in GSoC exemplifies its commitment to fostering open-source innovation and driving technological advancements that benefit healthcare systems worldwide.
