• More than 100 participants from 23 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, gather to promote excellence and transformation in education

Experts from around the world have gathered for the start of the second Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) Week, which begins today at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. 

The theme of the second J-WEL Week, “Learning Communities of the Future”, will see experts and stakeholders from a range of fields come together to discuss ways of pushing forward learning and education in the Middle East and wider world.

The four-day, semi-annual event features more than 100 participants from 23 countries, including Saudi Arabia, and seeks to foster partnerships and knowledge exchange between academia, NGOs, regional and multilateral organisations, the private sector and other actors in the space. The participants include university senior leadership, industry leaders, educators, government officials, and heads of leading foundations.  Those attending include representatives of King Saud University, and from Jordan Hello World Kids and Save the Children.

The event follows the 2017 launch of the J-WEL initiative between Community Jameel and MIT, which aims to spark a renaissance in education around the world. Community Jameel partners with J-WEL to achieve this impact in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East. During the week participants will share best practice, educational research and teaching approaches as a jumping off point for articulating goals and action plans for their own organizations.

Fady Mohammed Jameel, President of Community Jameel International, said: “Education and learning are the bedrock of development, building strong and diversified economies, and creating opportunity and prosperity – central objectives of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and the ambitions of governments around the world.

“Through J-WEL we are bringing together a wealth of perspectives, knowledge and experience to address the challenges facing learning at all levels, and to develop real, workable solutions that can promote employment and create increased opportunity for all.” 

Sanjay Sarma, MIT vice president for open learning, 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.”

The J-WEL Week program has been designed by J-WEL faculty directors professors Angela Becher, Eric Klopfer, Hazel Sive, and George Westerman, in cooperation with Dr. M.S. Vijay Kumar, J-WEL executive director—who collectively bring to the program decades of experience and passion across pre-K-12, higher education, and workplace learning.

For more information on J-WEL click here