MIT D-Lab works with people around the world to develop and advance collaborative approaches and practical solutions to global poverty challenges.
The program’s mission is pursued through interdisciplinary courses, research in collaboration with global partners, technology development, and community initiatives — all of which emphasize experiential learning, real-world projects, community-led development, and scalability.
Founded in 2002 by Amy Smith, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, D-Lab has developed a range of technologies and processes, including community watertesting and treatment systems, human-powered agricultural processing machines, medical and assistive devices for global health, and clean-burning cooking fuels made from waste.
D-Lab classes, research groups, and programs are connected to communities around the world in countries including Botswana, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Haiti, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and others.
The program’s mission is pursued through interdisciplinary courses, research in collaboration with global partners, technology development, and community initiatives — all of which emphasize experiential learning, real-world projects, community-led development, and scalability.
Founded in 2002 by Amy Smith, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, D-Lab has developed a range of technologies and processes, including community watertesting and treatment systems, human-powered agricultural processing machines, medical and assistive devices for global health, and clean-burning cooking fuels made from waste.
D-Lab classes, research groups, and programs are connected to communities around the world in countries including Botswana, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Haiti, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and others.
Location: United States, Massachusetts, Cambridge
Employees: 11-50
Founded date: 2002
Mentions in press and media 4
| Date | Title | Description |
| 23.09.2020 | The magic of science with everyday tools in Ghana; Heather Beem’s PEN story | My Life In Tech is putting human faces to some of the innovative startups, investments and policy formations driving the technology sector across Africa. Heather Beem wants every science student on the continent to be able to understand and... |
| 23.01.2018 | WATCH: How origami could help treat cancer | Beating back cancer isn’t just about having the right drugs. It’s also about getting them to the exactly where tumors are hiding inside the body — all while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. In advanced ovarian cancer, that can mean pump... |
| 14.03.2017 | Global health innovations can be game-changers at home, too | Rich and poor countries used to struggle with different sets of health issues: obesity in one versus malnutrition in the other; heart disease and cancer as leading causes of death in rich countries, deaths from infection topping the list in... |
| 16.01.2014 | 14 health care innovation predictions for 2014 | By Vector Staff 2013 saw an accelerated crumbling of borders and boundaries in health care, fueled by technological and scientific advances. Boundaries between high-tech Western medicine and global health practices have begun blurring in in... |