MIT D-Lab builds the capacity of organizations around the world to support innovators in their communities to generate new ideas and prototype impactful technologies. We train, mentor, and where possible fund organizations to offer:
- Training in design, fabrication, and/or business skills
- Shared tools for prototype and product fabrication in a variety of materials
- Space in which to gather, learn, and create
- Connection to a community of like-minded individuals
Beyond this basic foundation, each center is unique, its offerings a reflection of its founders and the community it serves.
The Innovation Center founders and staff we work with get access to best practices collected from centers around the world for setting up shared-access shops and building traction with community members. We also expose them to our “design by” Creative Capacity Building curriculum. Where possible, we offer training for instructors, support in adapting curriculum for local needs, and funding for shop tools, materials, and startup staff
Current projects
Active D-Lab Projects Including Innovation Center Support
- Creative Capacity Building with Unaccompanied Refugee Minors & Women — Athens, Greece
- Refugee Innovation Ecosystem — Rhino Camp, Uganda
- Building Inclusive Economy with Small Scale Miners - Colombia
Past Projects
Innovation Centers we have worked with include:
- Latin America
- Brazil - Centro de Inovação Vila Nova Esperança (CIVNE)
- Colombia - C-Innova
- El Salvador - Centro de innovación Innovatepec
- Guatemala - 3 Innovation Centers of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala
- México - Oaxin Centro de Innovación
- Africa
- Botswana - These Hands
- Ghana - Kumasi Hive
- Tanzania - Twende Social Innovation Center
- Uganda - Social Innovation Academy
- Zambia - Kafue Innovation Center
- IDIN-SADC Consortium
- Europe & Asia
- Greece - Faros Horizon Center
- India - Project DEFY
Past D-Lab Projects Including Innovation Center Support
- IDIN Innovation Center Partner Program
- Innovation Ecosystem Builder Fellowship
- Disaster Risk Reduction Program — Dry Corridor, El Salvador
- Community-Driven Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Oaxaca, Mexico
Contact
Amy Smith, Founding Director MIT D-Lab
Martha Thompson, Lecturer and MIT D-Lab Humanitarian Innovation Specialist
Libby McDonald, Lecturer and MIT D-Lab Inclusive Economies lead
