MIT celebrated 25 years of international engagement through the Center's International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) at an Oct. 2 dinner hosted by Dana Mead, chairman of the MIT Corporation, and Deborah Fitzgerald, Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. MIT's largest international program, MISTI is a pioneer in the field of applied international studies. It prepares MIT students to participate in the global economy by connecting them to hands-on professional internships and research opportunities across the globe. MISTI began in the early 1980s with the creation of the MIT-Japan Program. By 1991, more than 60 MIT interns each year were working in Japan. Today, MISTI prepares and sends more than 300 MIT interns annually to nine countries: China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Spain. "From the path that MISTI has broken, we are now paving the way to a whole new avenue for education at MIT," President Susan Hockfield said. "The reason I'm convinced that global exposure makes an MIT education even better for our students is that we have been very careful in designing those experiences. MISTI is the premier example."

The Impact of Migration on Children Left Behind in Developing Countries, Andrea Rossi, John F. Kennedy School of Government, on Oct 14; Asia's Growing Footprints in the Middle East: What it Means for America, Geoffrey Kemp, Director, Regional Strategic Patterns, Nixon Cente, on Oct 15; Does the Israeli Economy Really Need Peace? Bernard Avishai, Monitor Group, on Oct 16.

The Center's Jerusalem Seminar Series continues with its second lecture: "Jerusalem: In the Eye of the Conflict." Speaking will be Anat Biletzski, a former fellow in the Center's Program on Human Rights and Justice and a member of the Jerusalem 2050 steering committee. Currently, Biltetzki is teaching a course on human rights at MIT and has been teaching at the philosophy department in Tel Aviv University since 1979. Outside academia, she has been active in the peace movement as a board member of Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (FFIP), and previously as chairperson of the board of B'Tselem—the Israeli information center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (2001-2006). The lecture will be held on Fri, Oct 3, in MIT Bldg E38 (Sixth Floor Conference Room) from 4p - 6p.