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InnovationMISTI shifts to fully remote global internships and cultural experiences amid pandemic
The 10.5-hour time difference between the eastern United States and India may seem like it would pose a challenge to collaborative teamwork. However, MIT junior Robert Koirala and sophomore Grace Smith quickly got used to scheduling team meetings as late as 11 p.m. as remote interns for India-based Ek Kadam Aur Foundation for Education and […]
Twenty years of cultivating tech entrepreneurs
In 2010, Clarisse Iribagiza was studying computer engineering at the University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology. She was intrigued to hear about a program on the fundamentals of technological entrepreneurship offered by the MIT Global Startup Labs (GSL) at her college. “I had never heard of startups, but I wanted to understand what […]
Shaping universities to be engines of economic development
Universities perform best as engines of economic development when they systematically exchange knowledge with their partners in industry and government, according to a new book co-authored by an MIT professor and former university president. At the moment, this “exchange” too often operates like a one-way street, the authors write, with universities sending graduates and research […]
Report outlines route toward better jobs, wider prosperity
Decades of technological change have polarized the earnings of the American workforce, helping highly educated white-collar workers thrive, while hollowing out the middle class. Yet present-day advances like robots and artificial intelligence do not spell doom for middle-tier or lower-wage workers, since innovations create jobs as well. With better policies in place, more people could […]
MIT celebrates Women’s Entrepreneurship Month
The women’s entrepreneurial experience at MIT started in 1870, when Ellen Henrietta Swallow first set foot on campus as an “experimental student.” Some 30 years later, she became the second president of the MIT Women’s Association, organized with her help “to promote greater fellowship among Institute women.” In the years since, the immeasurable contribution of […]
Action learning in the virtual world
This year marked the third time that MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node hosted a fintech entrepreneurship program designed for students from MIT and from Hong Kong, but this summer marked the first time the experience was hosted online. Called MIT Entrepreneurship and Fintech Integrator (MEFTI), 33 students participated remotely across five different time zones due to […]
Digitizing supply chains to lift farmers out of poverty
Millions of cocoa farmers live in poverty across western Africa. Over the years, these farmers have been forced to contend with geopolitical instability, predatory loan practices, and a general lack of information that hampers their ability to maximize yields and sell crops at fair prices. Other problems, such as deforestation and child labor, also plague […]
Crowdsourced grocery delivery service thrives despite pandemic woes
Early this year, Philip Kuai MNG ’07 and his team were faced with a challenging decision about whether to continue on their pathway to publicly offer their company, Dada Group, in the midst of a global pandemic. While there was much uncertainty in the market at the time, the team’s perseverance and dedication paid off […]
3 Questions: Enabling informed migration in India
The World Economic Forum estimates that there are approximately 139 million domestic migrant laborers in India who move from rural areas to urban centers such as Delhi or Mumbai in search of economic opportunities. These workers frequently rely on the advice of a “bandhu” (Hindi for friend, brother, or relative) to determine where and when […]
MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab to launch research center at American University in Cairo
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT is launching a new regional research center in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to focus on innovative research and policy engagement to reduce poverty. Policy challenges in the MENA region are complex and interconnected: Children in the region have among the lowest learning […]