The Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL), which aims to assist in transforming education around the world, discussed ways to develop education with leading global experts at MIT’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this week.

 

The four-day event represented the first major initiative of J-WEL and focuses on the three pillars of lifelong education: pK-12, higher education, and workplace learning.

 

A series of activities were held as part of J-WEL week, including lectures, speeches and workshops, where participants from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom worked collaboratively on some of the most pressing issues facing education today.

 

Co-founded in May 2017 by Community Jameel, the social enterprise organisation, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), J-WEL aims to help people fulfill their true potential by transforming education and learning at all levels and ages. It seeks to strengthen knowledge transfer and development, and equip individuals with the skills and abilities needed for the modern workplace. 

 

J-WEL fosters new initiatives to bring together stakeholders including schools, governments, NGOs, philanthropists, and businesses who will have special access to MIT programs and resources, such as trainings, workshops, and certification programs, as well as partnership opportunities with MIT and other members.

 

J-WEL is part of MIT’s broader $5 billion global ‘Campaign for a Better World’ and sits alongside ongoing collaborations between Community Jameel and MIT, including the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab (J-WAFS), along with other projects. Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, chairman of Community Jameel, is an MIT Corporation life member.

 

Fady Mohammed Jameel, president of community Jameel International, said: “Education and learning are fundamental to development, building strong and diversified economies, and creating opportunity and prosperity for all.” 

 

He added: “Through J-WEL, we want to bring together experts from across the education space, gathering perspectives, knowledge and experience to address the challenges facing learning at all levels, and to develop real, workable solutions. The inaugural J-WEL Week is the first step in this process, and we are delighted with the high level of engagement in the initiative.”  

 

Sanjay Sarma, MIT's vice president for open learning, and Vijay M S Kumar, associate dean of digital learning and J-WEL’s executive director, have led strategic educational initiatives for MIT, and are driving the creation of three J-WEL initiatives focusing on pK-12, Higher Education, and Workplace Learning. These initiatives draw upon existing educational resources at MIT, including the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative and the Office of Digital Learning, as well as on-going Institute research in childhood development and employee training methods.

 

Sarma describes the J-WEL approach: “Through J-WEL, we will forge new and long-lasting collaborations as we learn, share, and train together, using the assets developed at MIT as well as by leveraging the community convened by J-WEL.” – TradeArabia News Service