Training MIT’s “Innovation Diplomats”
Program provides students with resources and guidelines to explore global innovation ecosystems.
Each year, hundreds of MIT students travel abroad to conduct research through MISTI, the Global Entrepreneurship Lab, and other programs. The new iDiplomats program aims to transform the experience of students traveling abroad with advice on how to be unofficial “innovation diplomats” for MIT.
MIT mechanical engineering undergraduate David Dellal spent a good portion of his summer in Paris studying what makes France’s innovation ecosystem tick.
With guidance from the Innovation Diplomats, or “iDiplomats,” program launched through the MIT Innovation Initiative, Dellal interviewed government officials, academics, corporate managers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists while networking at various city innovation events.
As an aspiring entrepreneur, Dellal says the experience opened his eyes to seed funding, the laws regulating innovation, startup culture, and how government policies impact entrepreneurs, among other things. “You really see how everything gets put together,” says Dellal, an MIT junior.
Each year, hundreds of MIT students travel abroad to conduct research through MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI), the Global Entrepreneurship Lab, and other programs. The new iDiplomats program aims to transform the experience of students traveling abroad with advice on how to be unofficial “innovation diplomats” for MIT.
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