Nationwide Knowledge Network to Advance the Study of Information Technology in Health Systems

Open Text s Livelink Provides Knowledge Management, Collaborative E-Learning

Waterloo, Ontario - 2003-05-29 - A group of leading universities, health information associations and companies in Canada today announced that they are in the final stages of creating a first-of-its-kind knowledge management and collaborative e-learning platform for Health Informatics to serve the health system and educational institutions across Canada. A prototype of the new system will be ready in July, with completion slated for December.

The project, called the Pan-Canadian Health Informatics Collaboratory, will improve knowledge sharing and standards among Health Informatics professionals, and create an innovative new nationwide e-learning system for students in Health Informatics. A unique aspect of the system will be its role as a nationwide repository for educational materials for the Health Informatics field. The system will allow educational content submitted from institutions across the country to be shared and reused, or tailored for new purposes. Health Informatics encompasses the organizational, professional, scientific and technical issues involved in the use of information systems among health organizations.

Health Informatics has grown as a vital area of expertise, as the recognition of the value of electronic information continues to grow, said Dominic Covvey, Professor and Research Chair in Health Informatics in the Faculty of Science at the University of Waterloo. For health systems around the world, Health Informatics is critical to increasing efficiency, and improving the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of institutions, but the real goal is better health care.

With the Health Informatics Collaboratory, we can advance Health Informatics standards, best practices and education, said Dr. Michael Shepherd, Professor of Computer Science at Dalhousie University. We are applying the latest in knowledge management and creating a next-generation platform for e-learning with collaborative technologies that will give students dynamic new ways to work and learn together in teams online. In order to enhance the quality of the collaborative environment, Dr. Sampalli Srinivas, of Dalhousie University, is developing voice communications over the Internet that will incorporate leading edge quality of service technology. This is possible because of the universities, corporations and associations who for the first time have joined forces to advance an increasingly important field of study for our health system.

Based on Open Text s Livelink collaboration and knowledge management software, the system will serve as a knowledge repository of educational content and information for Health Informatics professionals, educators and students. The repository will contain a wide range of information, including documents, educational materials and course modules; images, graphs and models; and audio and video content. The system will incorporate powerful metadata and search capabilities to classify and organize educational content, and make it easily searchable and accessible by users. The system will follow IMS standards for classifying educational content in an information repository.

The collaborative e-learning features will allow professors and students to interact within and between organizations, giving students an opportunity to take advantage of courses at other institutions. The platform will allow professors to tap the wide range of materials in the knowledge repository and assemble the content they need to create customized courses for students. Students can also access the system as part of their course work.

The e-learning component of the system will utilize Livelink MeetingZone , Open Text s online team meeting software, which is integrated with its Livelink software suite. MeetingZone provides an interactive online meeting environment where users can easily share ideas and opinions on subjects in real time on a more equal footing with the presenter. Users can share notes and information, conduct ad hoc polls and use features, such as private instant messaging, group chat, whiteboarding, agenda annotations, URLs, presentation slideshows and application sharing.

Organizations involved in the Health Informatics Collaboratory include the University of Alberta, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, the Broadband Enabled Lifelong Learning Environment (BELLE), the University of Calgary, the Canadian Health Records Association (CHRA), Canada s Health Informatics Association (COACH), Dalhousie University, the Ecogene Research Program, Konova Solutions and Media, the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences, Open Text, the University of Sherbrooke, University of Victoria, the University of Waterloo and the University of Western Ontario. The project is funded by the universities and companies involved and by Canada s Advanced Internet Development Organization (CANARIE).

More information on the Pan-Canadian Health Informatics Collaboratory can be found at http://www.health.bcit.ca/hic/index.html

About Livelink

Livelink is the leader in collaboration and knowledge management for the global enterprise. Its richly featured enterprise services include virtual team collaboration, business process automation, enterprise group scheduling and information retrieval services, all tightly integrated into a solution that is easily customized and extended. Livelink is essential to the effective management and development of communities of interest that span organizations and industries. For everything from the creation of complex e-community relationships to the automation of simple e-business processes, Livelink delivers true dynamic collaboration between individuals, organizations and large trading communities. Livelink servers are fully Web-based and open-architected to ensure rapid deployment and easy access to its full functionality through a standard Web browser. For more information, visit www.opentext.com/livelink/.

About Open Text

Since 1991, Open Text Corporation has delivered innovative software that brings people together to share knowledge, achieve excellence, deliver innovation, and enhance processes. Its legacy of innovation began with the successful deployment of the world s first search engine technology for the Internet. Today, as the leading global supplier of collaboration and knowledge management software for the enterprise, Open Text supports fifteen million seats across 10,000 corporate deployments in 31 countries and 12 languages throughout the world. As a publicly traded company, Open Text manages and maximizes its resources and relationships to ensure the success of great minds working together. For more information, visit www.opentext.com.

Trademark

Copyright © 2003 by Open Text Corporation. LIVELINK, LIVELINK MEETINGZONE, and OPEN TEXT are trademarks or registered trademarks of Open Text Corporation in the United States of America, Canada, the European Union and/or other countries. This list of trademarks is not exhaustive. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, product names, company names, brands and service names mentioned herein are property of Open Text Corporation or other respective owners.

Release Disclaimer

This news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to the deployment of Livelink and Livelink MeetingZone by customers, and future performance of Open Text Corporation. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks involved in the completion and integration of acquisitions, the possibility of technical, logistical or planning issues in connection with deployments, the continuous commitment of the Company's customers and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the final prospectus for the Company's initial public offering of common stock in January 1996, Form 10-K for the years ended June 30, 1996, June 30, 1997, June 30, 1998, June 30, 1999, June 30, 2000, June 30, 2001, and June 30, 2002, and 10-Q for the quarters ending September 30, 2002 and December 31, 2002. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and opinions at the time the statements are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligations to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's beliefs or opinions change.

For more information, please contact

Margaret E. Dobbin
Director, Industry Analyst Relations
Open Text Corporation
+1-519-888-7111 ext.2410
mdobbin@opentext.com

Richard Maganini
Open Text Corporation
1-847-961-0662
rmaganin@opentext.com