International development

Sana AudioPulse wins Mobile Health Challenge

2012-13 Legatum Fellows Announced25 students awarded fellowships for projects in 15 countries.

Economist Robert Townsend wins Frisch MedalPrestigious prize granted for research on Thailand’s villages.

IDEAS Global Challenge team profile: True AfricaImproving access to local businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa

IDEAS Global Challenge team profile: wecyclersIncentivizing recycling in the slums of Nigeria

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.

Sustainable approaches to reducing food waste in India

MIT IDEAS Global Challenge teams innovate around the world during IAPStudents develop quality-of-life solutions for underserved communities.

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

Wisdom of crowdsIn countries that lack financial records, how can we tell who is truly poor? An innovative study suggests: Ask the neighbors.

Waldman-Brown, Fulbright scholarship winner, to spend next year in GhanaRecent graduate and public service fellow will teach the science of energy generation.

Taxation without documentationNew study shows ‘informal taxation’ in developing countries is far greater than suspected, supporting public works — and adding a burden for the poor.

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

Life on a dollar a dayIn Poor Economics, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo open a window into the lives of the world’s poorest people, and suggest new remedies to combat poverty.

Out of thick airMIT graduate student is working to make water available for the world’s poor by refining the tools and techniques of fog harvesting.

Universities can lead in development, USAID head says during MIT visitDiscusses how new ideas are needed for battling disease, extending education and improving lives in poor nations.

iHouse receives 484 Phi Alpha Foundation grant$20,000 award will help fund international development projects for students in the living-learning community

Haiti’s plightMIT anthropologist Erica James examines the psychological damage inflicted on the island nation’s inhabitants.

LINC unites educators from around the worldFifth conference being held May 23-26

Pattern seen in governments’ currency policiesSmall-time money transfers from migrants shape key decisions on foreign exchange, research shows.

MIT's chapter of Engineers Without Borders launches first projectStudents hope to bring electricity and clean water to Ugandan health clinic

New student magazine highlights international development opportunitiesSecond issue of Komaza will be available on newsstands around campus beginning Dec. 8

Of note: Legatum Seed Grant applications now being accepted

Data points of lightMIT’s undergraduates fight poverty one statistic at a time, thanks to coordination between the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab.

In the World: A better way to beat around the bushInternational teams in Ghana tackle local needs of village farmers for better methods and devices to harvest their crops