In the world

In The World: Helping Brazilians turn waste into productsInternational summit fosters ways of producing everything from food to flooring, using discarded materials.

Bringing power to the people — and heat as wellSun-powered system developed by MIT students could provide electricity, heat and cooling to rural schools and clinics.

In the World: How rainwater can meet clean-water needsRainfall can provide an alternative to polluted groundwater in developing countries, but systems are needed to keep it clean.

In the World: Fostering entrepreneurship in developing nationsIn 11 years, MIT’s Accelerating Information Technology Innovation (AITI) program has trained more than 1,500 budding entrepreneurs in seven countries.

In the World: Murmurs of MayanMIT undergraduate travels to Mexico in hopes of documenting and preserving ancient linguistic phenomena — and the culture behind them.

In the World: Design summit’s inventions find willing buyersDevices to improve lives in developing countries are so appealing that even the initial prototypes attract buyers.

In the World: Cultivating creativityFor some of the world’s poorest people, the biggest impact can come from fostering creative problem-solving.

In the World: New water-filter factory in GhanaAfter years of development, production of ceramic-pot water filters should soar with opening of new facility.

In the World: Turning old oil into new mileageBrazilian waste pickers gain an inexpensive way to fuel their vehicles using leftover cooking oil.

Undergrads bring energy education to GhanaGhanaian high school students share alternative energy ideas with rural village.

In the World: Turning waste into profitStudents aim to improve Kenyan slum-dwellers’ access to basic sanitation — and generate renewable energy and jobs along the way.

In the World: Drinking water, from sunshineMIT team designs solar-powered portable desalination system to use in disaster zones and remote regions.

In the World: Health care in the palm of a handMIT-led student team develops mobile-device software to help improve health-care accessibility in remote regions.

In the World: Breath of lifeLow-cost portable ventilator could be a lifesaver for people in remote locations and for hospitals in the developing world.

In the World: Easy on the eyesSimple, low-cost device that affixes to a cell phone could provide quick eye tests throughout the developing world.

LINC 2010 engages and inspiresConference focuses on the present and future of technology-enabled learning worldwide

Deworming the worldHow MIT Sloan School of Management Professor Kristin Forbes is helping to improve school participation in developing countries for just pennies per child

MIT men’s basketball makes return trip to TaiwanFor the second time in the last five years, the MIT men’s basketball team will travel abroad to Taiwan to participate in the Fifth Annual Kainan University International Basketball Invitational.

Making Progress in Product DesignHow a mashup of disciplines builds genius — and really cool stuff

Slideshow: Mapping the oil spillMIT student leads project using balloons and kites to provide aerial documentation of the Gulf oil slick’s extent and effects

In the World: Clean Water for GhanaMIT students help a researcher build a factory that could provide water filters for 1 million people in northern Ghana

In the World: Better wound treatment for allA streamlined version of 'negative-pressure' wound therapy is put to the test in Haiti — and could have 'enormous potential' across the developing world.

A system that’s worth its saltNew approach to water desalination could lead to small, portable units that could be sent to disaster sites or remote locations.

In the World: Nanotech on the farmMIT chemical engineer Paula Hammond lends her nanotechnology expertise to farmers in Africa.

New wheelchair gets its first real-world testGrad student’s device aims to meet the needs of millions of people in the developing world.

Medical entrepreneurship, from the bottom upMIT students aim to bring affordable health care to India’s masses.

MIT Professional Education delivers its first course in IndiaThis week, MIT Professional Education is conducting its first-ever three-day course in India, “Airport and Airline Systems: Planning, Design and Management,” as part of the program’s new international outreach initiative.

Researching and writing a thesis (and a blog) in TanzaniaMechanical Engineering major, Tish Scolnik ’09, is spending this January developing her thesis focused on appropriate technology for the developing world.

President Hockfield meets key MIT Portugal stakeholders during three-day visit to LisbonReceives first-of-its-kind honorary doctorate from leading Portuguese universities