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Duane Boning named vice provost for international activities
With extensive international outreach experience as a faculty member and program leader, Boning brings a spirit of curiosity and collaboration to his new role.
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How tutoring programs can combat the “Covid-19 slide”
The current pandemic has led to unprecedented disruptions in student learning in the United States. Remote learning, decreased instruction time, and fewer opportunities for personalized interactions with teachers have set the stage for widespread learning loss, also referred to as the “Covid-19 slide.” These risks are greatest for low-income students, students of color, and students […]
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 […]
Donald Blackmer, professor emeritus of political science and longtime leader at MIT, dies at 91
Donald L. M. Blackmer, professor emeritus of political science at MIT, died on Aug. 14. He was 91. A highly regarded scholar in international studies, he was also a longtime leader at MIT, serving variously as executive director of the Center for International Studies, head of the Department of Political Science, associate dean of the School of Humanities […]
3 Questions: Historian Emma Teng on face masks as 公德心
As The Washington Post has reported, “at the heart of the dismal U.S. coronavirus response” is a “fraught relationship with masks.” With its Meaning of Masks series, which explores the myriad historic, creative, and cultural meanings of masks, the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) aims to offer Americans more ways to […]
Fostering friendships and films from across the globe
What do you do when a pandemic shuts down international travel, and you can’t do your internship in Japan? For MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) students this summer, the answer was the Virtual Language Conversation Exchange with the Tokyo Institute of Technology (also known as Tokyo Tech). MIT Japan’s managing director, Christine Pilcavage, […]
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 […]
The promise of using WhatsApp for low-tech distance learning
WhatsApp is one of the most widely-used communication apps in South Africa. Though it’s often portrayed in the news as a way to spread disinformation, it shows surprising potential as a tool for online learning during the era of social distancing. Grassroot, a civic technology organization based in South Africa, has developed a first-of-its-kind training […]
MIT-Wits Program continues to thrive
Now in its seventh year, the MIT-Wits Program is one of MIT’s most active in Africa. Whether through MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI)-organized student opportunities and faculty seed funds, visiting professors, or its array of edX courses, the relationship is as strong as ever. Known fondly known as Wits (and pronounced “Vits”), the […]