Community Jameel and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have announced the creation of a new global education laboratory that supports education and learning, including in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
The global collaborative effort will help educators, universities, governments, and companies revolutionise the effectiveness and reach of education and aims to help prepare people everywhere for a labour market, radically altered by technological progress, globalisation, and the pursuit of higher living standards around the world.
J-WEL will foster new initiatives, and MIT will make its programmes and resources available to schools, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), philanthropists, and businesses, and provide special access to trainings, workshops, and certification programmes, as well as collaborative opportunities with MIT.
Co-founded by Community Jameel, which was established and is chaired by Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, an MIT alumnus and MIT Corporation life member, J-WEL is part of MIT’s broader global ‘Campaign for a Better World’. Ongoing collaborations between Community Jameel and MIT include the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab (J-WAFS), along with other projects.
“Education and learning are fundamental to a strong society and economy. They promote employment and create increased opportunity for all – all central pillars of Saudi Vision 2030,” said Fady Mohammed Jameel, President of Community Jameel International. “While there has been progress made in improving education, there is always more that can be done. Enabling individuals to do their very best and reach their full potential, whatever their background, is a key priority for Community Jameel, and one on which we look forward to collaborating with the educational community in Saudi Arabia. That is exactly why we are establishing the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab with MIT.”
The Middle East is a region of great interest for MIT. J-PAL held an event in Dubai last month where it confirmed it will be increasing J-PAL’s work and presence in the region, while Community Jameel recently organised a visit for the President of MIT to Saudi Arabia.
“For years, Community Jameel’s commitment to finding practical solutions to complex global problems has inspired all of us at MIT,” said MIT president, L. Rafael Reif. “With J-WEL, Community Jameel builds on that extraordinary legacy with an effort that will empower learners around the world and in the United States, opening educational pathways that are currently closed to millions. We are grateful to Community Jameel for their vision, their partnership, and their unwavering dedication to making a better world.”
Operational by September 2017, J-WEL will be an entity within MIT’s open education and learning initiatives.
