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By attracting the world’s sharpest talent, MIT helps keep the US a step ahead
MIT is a global community whose international engagement bestows benefits well beyond the Cambridge campus.
MIT in the world
At Lithuanian conference, MIT faculty explore technological pathways to resilient, adaptive future
MIT’s faculty participated in conference in Lithuania sharing ideas and expertise on a varied menu of technological, societal, and ecological challenges.
MIT-Imperial Seed Fund marks a decade of collaborative research and discovery
Nearly 50 projects have been funded since 2015, capitalizing on the unique areas of expertise at each university and setting the stage for further studies.
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Why countries trade with each other while fighting
In World War II, Britain was fighting for its survival against German aerial bombardment. Yet Britain was importing dyes from Germany at the same time. This sounds curious, to put it mildly. How can two countries at war with each other also be trading goods?Examples of this abound, actually. Britain also traded with its enemies […]
The “Mississippi Bubble” and the complex history of Haiti
Many things account for Haiti’s modern troubles. A good perspective on them comes from going back in time to 1715 or so — and grappling with a far-flung narrative involving the French monarchy, a financial speculator named John Law, and a stock-market crash called the “Mississippi Bubble.” To condense: After the death of Louis XIV […]
MIT-Africa launches new collaboration with Angola
The MIT Center for International Studies announced the launch of a new pilot initiative with Angola, to be implemented through its MIT-Africa Program. The new initiative marks a significant collaboration between MIT-Africa, Sonangol (Angola’s national energy company), and the Instituto Superior Politécnico de Tecnologias e Ciências (ISPTEC). The collaboration was formalized at a signing ceremony […]
3 Questions: Applying lessons in data, economics, and policy design to the real world
Gevorg Minasyan MAP ’23 first discovered the MITx MicroMasters Program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) — jointly led by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and MIT Open Learning — when he was looking to better understand the process of building effective, evidence-based policies while working at the Central Bank of […]
MIT Learn offers “a whole new front door to the Institute”
In 2001, MIT became the first higher education institution to provide educational resources for free to anyone in the world. Fast forward 24 years: The Institute has now launched a dynamic AI-enabled website for its non-degree learning opportunities, making it easier for learners around the world to discover the courses and resources available on MIT’s […]
A brief history of the global economy, through the lens of a single barge
In 1989, New York City opened a new jail. But not on dry land. The city leased a barge, then called the “Bibby Resolution,” which had been topped with five stories of containers made into housing, and anchored it in the East River. For five years, the vessel lodged inmates. A floating detention center is […]
Helping cities evolve
Growing up in Paris, Vincent Rollet was exposed to the world beyond France from an early age. His dad was an engineer who traveled around the globe to set up electrical infrastructure, and he moved the family to the United States for two years when Rollet was a small child. His father’s work sparked Rollet’s […]
Using AI to explore the 3D structure of the genome
Inside every human cell, 2 meters of DNA is crammed into a nucleus that is only one-hundredth of a millimeter in diameter. To fit inside that tiny space, the genome must fold into a complex structure known as chromatin, made up of DNA and proteins. The structure of that chromatin, in turn, helps to determine […]
Designing across cultural and geographic divides
In addition to the typical rigors of MIT classes, Terrascope Subject 2.00C/1.016/EC.746 (Design for Complex Environmental Issues) poses some unusual hurdles for students to navigate: collaborating across time zones, bridging different cultural and institutional experiences, and trying to do hands-on work over Zoom. That’s because the class includes students from not only MIT, but also […]
Building networks of data science talent
The rise of artificial intelligence resurfaces a question older than the abacus: If we have a tool to do it for us, why learn to do it ourselves? The answer, argues MIT electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) Professor Devavrat Shah, hasn’t changed: Foundational skills in mathematics remain essential to using tools well, from knowing […]