Call for MIT Global Startup Labs applications

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The South African leg of the programme is a joint initiative of MIT, WITS University and the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE), which will see students gain first-hand experience of the process involved in innovating and building a technology startup.

MIT Global Startup Labs partners with universities in emerging regions and organises advanced courses taught by MIT instructors. The intensive course focuses on mobile and internet technologies, and is structured so that participants can realise the commercial possibilities of technology. Components of the course include detailed technical curriculum, funded business competitions, guest lectures and networking events, all to help participants transition from being aspiring entrepreneurs to active entrepreneurs.

Professor Barry Dwolatzky, director of the JCSE says the programme is particularly ideal for teams who have either begun to think about a startup idea they would like to pursue or are in the nascent stages of pursuing it already. “We are looking for teams that exhibit a sense of cohesion, drive, and creativity to be a part of what promises to be an exciting and fulfilling 2016 programme,” he notes.

Since 2000, MIT Global Startup Labs has sent over 150 MIT instructors to teach over 2,000 students in 14 countries, resulting in the creation of businesses and the addition of course offerings at partner universities.

The MIT Global Startup Labs workshop takes place from 22 June to 16 July at Wits University and applications can be submitted here.