MIT and Imperial launch 'unparalleled' student exchange

Imperial and MIT undergraduates will get the chance to study at the other institution, as the two world top ten universities deepen their connections.

From this autumn, Imperial students in 10 academic departments can apply to spend a year at MIT, with students from nine MIT departments enjoying the chance to spend a semester or full year at Imperial.

Imperial's Departments of Aeronautics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Computing, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Earth Science and Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics are set to join the exchange. In the first year, between 10 and 15 students will take part in the programme, a number that could rise to 20 or more in subsequent years. Similar numbers will study at Imperial from MIT. The exchange will provide research as well as educational opportunities to students at both institutions.

Professor Maggie Dallman, Vice President (International) at Imperial College London, said: "MIT and Imperial students are ambitious, innovative and thrive in academically rigorous environments. Students on this programme will be exposed to unparalleled education and research opportunities. Above all, they will learn from each other and from experiencing new academic and cultural environments. We are thrilled to be sharing new thinking and challenges with colleagues across so many departments at both universities."

Growing ties

The new exchange builds on a longstanding undergraduate exchange in Materials, a successful undergraduate summer research exchange which started in 2013, and the MIT-Imperial Seed Fund, launched in 2015, which supports emerging "blue skies" research collaboration between the universities.

Yun Chang, an AstroAero major at MIT spent last summer at Imperial. He told MIT News:  "Doing research at Imperial College London was an amazing experience, and was especially unique in that I got to meet people from all over the world. I got to do interesting research, and I was able to broaden my horizons. I am already missing walking through Kensington Gardens on my way to Imperial every morning."

Since 2011, the Imperial-MIT Global Fellows Programme has enabled 20 early-stage PhD students from Imperial, and a further 20 from MIT, to focus on professional development at the other institution each year.

Within the last five years, Imperial and MIT academics have co-authored more than 1,100 research papers, covering fields as diverse as pharmaceutical processing, nanomechanics of bone tissue, understanding the atmosphere of Mars, synthetic biology, cold fusion and dark matter.

This week, artificial intelligence researchers from Imperial and MIT gathered at BT in London to explore how AI will transform society.

Main photo credit: John Phelan; MIT infinite corridor credit: Nick Stenning;  Student exchange images c/o the students.