Tuesday, November 9, 1999

U. of Cambridge and MIT Will Collaborate on Technology Institute By ALINA TUGEND London The University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Monday announced a $135-million venture that officials of both institutions say they hope will create a new model for global higher education. The two universities will form the Cambridge-M.I.T. Institute, which involves departments and faculties at both institutions. The new institute will not have a physical site. "The institute will help place the U.K. at the cutting edge of the globalization of higher education," said David Blunkett, Britain's Secretary of Education and Employment. The British government will invest $109-million in the project over its first five years, and some $26-million will be raised from private industry. M.I.T. is not contributing any money to the project, which is expected to become self-sustaining after five years. The British government apparently has been interested in attracting M.I.T.'s expertise to its universities for some time. The Financial Times, a British newspaper, quoted an unidentified official described as being close to the deal as saying that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, who announced the project here, had "visited M.I.T. about 18 months ago and saw how they were able to translate knowledge into real business and wealth." The aim of the new institute is to use faculty members and students from both universities to: Collaborate on research and education to improve British productivity and competitiveness. Develop research programs to improve technology. Stimulate research spin-off companies. Bring M.I.T.'s business-executive programs to Britain. Develop common courses in science, technology, engineering, and management. The institute also will form a national competitiveness network among British universities, which will offer courses on entrepreneurship and productivity developed through the new collaborative project. A joint curriculum offered by the institute will enable undergraduates as well as graduate students to complete academic requirements while participating in exchange programs at either campus. "By bringing M.I.T. and Cambridge together in this way, we can establish a model for the globally linked research universities of the future," said Charles M. Vest, the president of M.I.T. Officials of M.I.T. have said that the Cambridge-M.I.T. Institute will be the only such institutional partnership it will have in Europe. "For M.I.T., this partnership offers an opportunity to participate in the education of the next generation of European technology leaders; to develop important relationships with European industry; and to expose its students to the culture of Europe," said Lawrence S. Bacow, the chancellor of M.I.T., who is said to have worked on the agreement for more than a year. He said the arrangement would enable 50 undergraduates a year from each institution to spend their junior year across the Atlantic. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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