The MIT Club of Saudi Arabia announced that the MIT Board of Trustees has honoured Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, President of Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives and President of Abdul Latif Jameel, by selecting him to become a lifetime member, in recognition of his efforts in fighting poverty, improving the lives of people throughout the world, as well as for supporting MIT development programmes.

Founded in 1861, MIT is one of the finest science and technology institutions, among the top academic and select institutions in the world. As a non-profit educational institution it focuses on practical applications, its knowledge spreading far and wide through several initiatives, including its research centres and scientific laboratories set up throughout the world. At least 81 of MIT alumni, and staff, won noble prizes in diversified fields. Companies established by MIT alumni have made annual sales totalling three trillion dollars, and employ three million people.

Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel received his SB in civil engineering from MIT in 1978. Engineer Jameel is a dedicated supporter of research initiatives at MIT to improve lives around the world.

In 2005, he gave a substantial gift to MIT, setting up the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). Today, J-PAL comprises a global network with seven regional offices and over 100 researchers working in 56 countries. The lives of over 164 million people have been positively affected by policies developed through J-PAL’s research. In cooperation with MIT, Engineer Jameel has also supported the establishment of the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab (J-WAFS) in 2014, to ensure availability of global food and water supply into the 21st century. In addition, the ‘Lab’ will elevate the Institute’s commitment to address the collective pressure of population growth, urbanization, and climate change.

Furthermore, Engineer Jameel has been supporting D-Lab’s “scale-ups” programme, which develops and helps commercialize affordable products for the poor.

Since 1994, he has supported dozens of students to complete their education at MIT through the Abdul Latif Jameel Toyota Endowed Scholarship Fund. Most of these students are from developing countries. In addition, Engineer Jameel supports the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition, in which thousands of young Arabs participate every year.

In 2009, Engineer Jameel was elected a member of the Board of Trustees, and today a lifetime member.

The MIT Club of Saudi Arabia was established in 1998. From a modest start, membership has steadily grown to over 80 members, 90% of them are Saudis. Those members have MIT degrees in diverse disciplines and work in a variety of professions within Saudi Arabia.

The MIT Club of Saudi Arabia is proud of one of its members having been elected as the first Arab Muslim lifetime member in the MIT Alumni Association. The objective of the Club is to foster social and intellectual interaction between members, promote leadership programmes in business and technology in Saudi Arabia, and support programmes at MIT that promote cultural tolerance and understanding.

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