Skip to content Skip to main navigation Skip to footer
MISTI Staff Knowledge Base

MISTI Impact Area Guide

A MISTI experience abroad is so much more than just an internship. These unique MIT-caliber, hands-on opportunities expand students’ worldviews and provide the foundation from which they will come to understand their own potential for impact in the world. 

As a part of a MISTI Impact Area, students learn: 

  • how technical problems and solutions are shaped by local contexts and cultures 
  • how science and engineering are impacted by globally interconnected research networks 
  • the role MIT is playing in addressing global challenges 
  • how you can channel your skills toward addressing these issues in your future career 

Timeline 

  • December 1st – Events and trainings finalized for the end of April/beginning of May 
  • Isabelle sends all event details to Managers with email templates in mid-December 
  • Plan pre-departure dates around these events 
  • Throughout the semester – As students are accepted, Managers send formal “Congratulations for being in this Impact Area!” email once they confirm acceptance/placement. 
  • April 1st – First round of placement records in 
  • Impact Area Leads send training email to all students 
  • April 15th – Second round of placement records 
  • Impact Area Leads send training email to second group of students plus reminders 
  • April 25th – Third round of placement records in 
  • Impact Area Leads send training email to third group of students plus reminders 

“Congratulations for being in this Impact Area!” Email Template 

 (Will be revised and emailed to Managers each year in mid-December): 

As an MIT student, you are a problem-solver. As a MISTI student, you have the cultural know-how to solve problems in different cultural contexts—a superpower that will enable you to make real impact in the world. 

MISTI Impact Areas are four learning communities created to help you understand the global dynamics of some of the world’s biggest challenges: 

  • Climate and Sustainability 
  • Health 
  • AI and ethics 
  • Social Impact 

As a part of a MISTI Impact Area, you will learn: 

  • how technical problems and solutions are shaped by local contexts and cultures 
  • how science and engineering are impacted by globally interconnected research networks 
  • the role MIT is playing in addressing global challenges 
  • how you can channel your skills toward addressing these issues in your future career 

Your internship is in BLANK, so you will attend one exciting pre-departure event as a part of your MISTI pre-departure training.  

The AI Pre-Departure session will be on BLANK 

The Health Pre-Departure session will be on BLANK 

The Social Impact Pre-Departure session will be on BLANK. 

The Climate and Sustainability Pre-Departure session will be on BLANK 

MISTI Impact Area Ambassadors 

Are you interested in blogging about your MISTI experience, and eager to develop your understanding of your MISTI country and culture? We invite you to apply to share how your MISTI experience impacts the way you see the world, as well as your future academic, professional or personal goals, within our four Impact Areas: Climate and Sustainability, Health, Artificial Intelligence, Social Impact. MISTI Impact Ambassadors will tell their MISTI story in the form of written or video blog posts, represent MISTI at events on campus after their return, and share about the social, economic and cultural context of these impact areas as they learn about it within their internship and host country.  

APPLY HERE (link to come) by May 1 

Impact Area Definitions 

AI:  

AI tools have the power to reshape the world on every level, and realizing their full potential requires mobilizing a broad range of disciplines. Determining how technology can best serve, support, and care for society in a hyper-connected world requires global insight. MISTI students combine technical skills acquired on campus with a tenacious desire to comprehend the full implications of innovation to address the challenges and opportunities of the computing age. With students from all five schools tackling projects ranging from researching machine learning algorithms that allow autonomous drones to “think” to employing predictive analytics that optimize robot maintenance, MIT is able to explore new approaches for ethical AI with urgency. 

Climate and Sustainability:  

“We seek to develop in each member of the MIT community the ability and passion to work wisely, creatively, and effectively for the betterment of humankind.” – MIT mission statement 

Of the time-sensitive issues facing the world today, climate change is one of the most unifying – affecting all regions of the world, although in myriad different ways. Driven by the urgency to translate their academic work into impact, students have the opportunity to gain direct experience tackling climate issues on a global scale through MISTI. In international internship and research placements, MIT students are able to engage with MISTI’s partners for projects across the sustainability spectrum, from biodiversity and conservation work, to renewable energy, to building sustainable cities. Students report that they not only are able to learn more about work within the sustainability field, but how other countries are addressing the global climate crisis. 

MISTI opportunities within this impact area include internships, research, study, and teaching programs that offer students the chance to learn more about sustainability, climate and environmental topics and contribute to efforts advancing global sustainable development goals.   

Health:  

Through internships and research opportunities, MISTI Health Impact area students are active participants in tackling the most pressing health challenges around the world. Working on projects ranging from developing cancer-detecting devices to connecting prosthetic sockets with custom prostheses, MIT students are working and researching across disciplines and borders in the international human health sector. 

Social Impact:  

Social impact programs are initiatives aimed at creating positive changes in society. They focus on addressing social issues like poverty, inequality, education, health, and the environment and prioritize positive impact over or alongside profits.  

Social impact projects are typically implemented by non-profit organizations, government agencies, social enterprises, international development organizations, philanthropic foundations and faith based organizations. Research can come under social impact too, as long as it is community based and the results will have direct, near-term, positive outcomes on society. Basic science and theoretical research typically does not fall under social impact. 

Impact Area Ambassador Program 

The Impact Area Leads selects at least one Ambassador for each Impact Area before the start of the Internship program. Each produces a two or three blogs or videos, does a social media takeover, and attends MISTI events upon their return. They receive a stipend for the summer.