For months, MIT Solve staff members have been planning their annual meeting, Solve at MIT. On May 16-18, these efforts will come together when 1,000 leaders in philanthropy, business, government, and academia convene on MIT’s campus to discuss some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Solve at MIT celebrates Solver teams — tech entrepreneurs driving social impact — and connects them with the Solve community to build robust partnerships to help pilot, scale, and implement their solutions.
The MIT community will be invited to attend this year's meeting with a forthcoming formal announcement.
What to expect this year at Solve at MIT
The 2018 meeting will contain a series of thought-provoking conversations facilitated by a host of impressive speakers. These include:
- Mitchell Baker, chairwoman of Mozilla;
- Ursula Burns, chairman of the Supervisory Board at VEON;
- Yo-Yo Ma, cellist and curator of the MIT Solve Arts and Culture Mentorship Prize;
- L. Rafael Reif, president of MIT;
- Eric Schmidt, technical advisor and board member of Alphabet Inc.;
- Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code;
- Pita Nikolas Taufatofua, Tongan Olympian; and
- The Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada.
In addition to these discussions, Solve at MIT will showcase inspirational Solvers such as:
- Emma Yang, the 13-year old Solver who created Timeless, an app that empowers Alzheimer’s patients by helping them remember friends and family;
- Albert Kwon '08 of AUGMENTx, an augmented reality neurorehabilitation therapy solution for patients living with stroke, phantom limb pain, and other forms of chronic limb pain; and
- Angel Adelaja of Fresh Direct Nigeria, who developed stackable container farms to increase local food production and entice a new generation to become farmers.
MIT Solve’s commitment to open innovation
Each year, Solve issues four challenges across its pillars — Economic Prosperity, Health, Learning, and Sustainability — to find the most promising Solver teams who will drive transformational change. Through its open innovation platform, Solve identifies the best solutions and then builds and convenes a community of leaders to form partnerships Solver teams need to scale their impact.
"We live in a time of tremendous change and face challenges global in scale,” said Prime Minister Trudeau. “Finding solutions shaped across borders, involving every generation, is imperative. I look forward to visiting the United States to speak with graduates and those at the forefront of innovation to look at what we can — and must — do to build a better tomorrow for future generations."
“At Solve, we believe there is talent and ingenuity everywhere,” said Alex Amouyel, executive director of Solve. “There are women in Afghanistan, youth in Bangladesh, innovators in Myanmar, entrepreneurs in Germany with intelligence, passion, and drive. It’s our job to provide a platform that connects them with the resources they need to make an impact on the world.”
Solve’s next round of Challenges is open. They are: Work of the Future, Frontlines of Health, Coastal Communities, and Teachers and Educators. Innovators and entrepreneurs from any industry, country, or background, whether for-profit or non-profit are encouraged to apply. The deadline is July 1.
For more information, view the full Solve at MIT program. To join Solve as a member, including attending Solve at MIT, learn about membership or e-mail membership@solve.mit.edu.
