Emerging Worlds

The world is our lab. At the MIT Media Lab, our aim is to influence and improve human lives. The proliferation of mobile devices and wide connectivity, as well as the availability and growth of machine learning, crowdsourcing, Big Data, and the Internet of Things offer new possibilities for research and development. In both developed and Emerging Worlds, there is a great opportunity for game-changing innovations that will impact billions.

With DOPS and DAPS, Digital Opportunities for Physical Systems and Digital Applications for Physical Systems, we can impact the physical world where we couldn't before.

We live in a very confusing world. The largest taxi services company doesn't own taxis. And the largest hospitality company in terms of market cap doesn't own hotels. The largest media company doesn't own media. And billions of people are becoming digital. There are many possibilities for new solutions in health, education, transport, agriculture, food, hospitality, and finance.

We recruit mentors from the MIT community, corporate executives, local academics, and government officials. MIT Media Lab researchers work closely with local innovators, and communicate throughout the year to develop more robust solutions to empower local citizens.

We offer an economical way for our collaborators to evolve their strategies and increase their odds of success. It's truly a living lab.