Roughly 50 departments, programs and student groups will highlight their international work at the fifth annual International Development Fair on Sept. 29 in Lobby 10 from 1-3 p.m.
The event is designed to showcase the many groups, projects and activities at MIT that provide students with an opportunity to work on issues related to international development.
Offices like the Public Service Center, which provides opportunities for students to create their own projects, and the MIT Program in Developmental Entrepreneurship (DE), which focuses on design and implementation of commercially sustainable products and services for low-income communities around the world, will participate in the fair along with student-led initiatives like FloodSafe Honduras, a group of MIT students and affiliates who work in Honduras to solve community problems using engineering and science skills.
"The fair brings students and organizations together, to promote awareness and encourage the exchange of ideas," according to the event web site.
For Sandy Pentland, the Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Science, whose work in DE has been ongoing, the event is a good opportunity to start conversations. "The idea is to build a broader coalition so that people who are interested can do everything they might be interested in doing," said Pentland, who works in the Media Lab.
The annual fair is organized by the MIT International Development Network, a community network developed to promote and share information about activities, programs, events and formal academic offerings related to International Development. The fair is the flagship event of MIT's International Development Week, which ran from Sept. 21-29 this year.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 4, 2006 (download PDF).
