We push past the edges of human understanding. We make new ways of seeing, and we see new ways of making. We inspire our extraordinary students, and they inspire us right back. We take on great challenges. And through clear-eyed, hands-on problem solving, we deliver new knowledge, new tools, new seekers, and new solutions—and we open wild new frontiers.
In that sense, MIT’s greatest invention may be itself—an unusual concentration of unusual talent, restlessly reinventing itself on a mission to make a better world.
Since MIT was founded to help a young nation seize its future as an industrial powerhouse, the people of MIT have been busy solving hard problems and answering big questions, and they have left society transformed. Today, everyone at MIT is hacking societal problems. And we see humanity’s pressing global challenges as invitations to action.
As we look to the horizon, we see a future where fundamental science unlocks vital new knowledge and unleashes unprecedented innovation . . . where climate change yields to climate action . . . where clean energy is as universal as the sunrise . . . where every member of the human family can count on clean water and nourishing food . . . where smart cities inspire wise communities, and the digitally daring drive bold advances for humanity . . . where we converge on ways to detect disease before it has symptoms, to reduce cancer to an inconvenience, and to make a vaccine for HIV as routine and effective as a tetanus shot . . . where Alzheimer’s itself is just a memory . . . where new nano-everything solves old, enormous problems . . . where good ideas don’t languish in the lab but flourish in the marketplace . . . where daring companies of every size create thriving industries and achieve lasting progress . . . where prosperity is measured not in dollars alone but in the currency of art, culture, and understanding . . . where quality education is radically more available and massively more effective . . . and where we offer the world’s undiscovered talent a digital path to a creative future.
As we strive to meet these challenges, we seek allies who share our sense of mission, urgency, and infinite possibility. We invite you to join us in creating the future.
This is the MIT Campaign for a Better World.
Let’s get started!
L. Rafael Reif