One of the core pillars that guide MIT ReACT’s work is related to research and advocacy in best practices and development in inclusive education and workforce development. As members of several networks, we work towards convening new spaces of collaboration and risk-taking and sharing best practices and deeper cross-institutional connections to address critical gaps and challenges in education and livelihood for displaced communities.
RESEARCH
Digital learning capacity building
MIT ReACT is in collaboration with the Whitaker Peace Development Initiative (WPDI) on designing a digital learning platform for the WPDI Community Learning Center in Kiryandongo, Uganda. The MIT ReACT team brought together WPDI leaders, instructors, trainers and learners together with a diverse community of technologists and instructional designers at MIT for interactive capacity building and co-design workshops in digital learning instructional design. Out of these workshops, WPDI and ReACT developed a project to design and pilot a series of digital learning modules in areas of ICT, Business and Entrepreneurship, and Peace Building and Conflict Resolution. MIT ReACT interns worked with WPDI instructors on the ground to design and produce the modules, which are now being tested with learners at WPDI’s new IT Lab in Kiryandongo. This effort was made possible by the generous support of the Western Union Foundation.
Redesigning the Tech Hiring Process to Include Displaced Talent
MIT ReACT, Na’amal, TalentLift, World Education Services, and the Tent Partnership for Refugees teamed up to develop a Guide on Redesigning the Tech Hiring Process to Include Displaced Talent. Insights and ideas are drawn from a series of workshops that took place in September 2021, which brought together tech hiring teams across Canada, refugee candidates, and supporting non-profit or training organizations.
MIT Integrated Learning Initiative (MITili) Research Grant
As part of its annual grantmaking to research the science of learning, the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative awarded MIT ReACT a grant to study the effectiveness of our experiential learning programming.
We are developing a comparative study between ReACT learners who choose internships vs self-guided experiential projects within the Computer and Data Science (CDS) Certificate Program. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study is to assess the learning effectiveness of an academic/behavioral intervention. More specifically, we aim to study the effect of offering structured mentoring opportunities in the CDS Program, and understand if/how it affects the learner experience and future work placement.
ADVOCACY
Migration Summit
The Migration Summit organized by the MIT Refugee Action Hub, Na’amal and Karam Foundation is a month-long global convening designed to build bridges between diverse communities of displaced learners, universities, companies, nonprofits and NGOs, social enterprises, foundations, philanthropists, researchers and employers around the key challenges and opportunities for refugee and migrant communities.
The event ran its first edition in April 2022 exploring the theme of “Education and Workforce Development in Displacement” and a second edition in April 2023 around “Co-Creating Pathways for Learning, Livelihood, and Dignity”.
In June and July 2024 we explored the theme of “Unlocking and Engaging Talent: Pathways for Dignified Work” through virtual and in-person events hosted by participating organizations around the world.
Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium Members
MIT ReACT is proud to be a member of the Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium (CLCC), a group of universities, NGOs and humanitarian organizations collaborating in an effort to promote quality higher education and professional development to community in contexts of crisis and displacement through connected learning. For an initiative serving learners across the world, the support of the diverse groups represented in the CLCC has been critical to our success, not only by spreading the word about MIT ReACT so that we can recruit talented learners, but also through the sharing of scholarship, internship and event opportunities that allow our learners to go further in their careers. Additionally, CLCC members including Mosaic, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), UNHCR, Arizona State University, InZone from University of Geneva, Syrian Youth Empowerment, University of Edinburgh, University of Auckland, Center for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies, Opening Universities for Refugees, and Kiron joined us as speakers and participants in the 2022 Migration Summit and have been valuable contributors for the planning of the 2023 event.
In November 2022, MIT ReACT was grateful for the opportunity to meet with the CLCC community in Copenhagen for the first in person meeting in several years. Generative conversations with member organizations around new and developing initiatives, challenges and successes and strategies for the consortium were motivating for the team as we plan for our fifth year of operation in the Certificate in Computer and Data Science Program. Specifically, ReACT staff are participants in two focused working groups – Community of Practice, which aims to bring members together around specific topics through mentorship and peer to peer learning; and Accreditation, working to develop pathways for credit acknowledgement and sharing and digital credentialing technology.
Refugee Sponsorship for Education (RESPONSE) Campaign
Dr. Admir Masic and Dr. Lana Cook served on the President’s Alliance for Higher Education and Immigration’s Working Group on University Sponsorship of Refugee Students in 2022. With a diverse group of organizations, ReACT helped provide guidance toward shaping the “RESPONSE Campaign,” which engages colleges and universities to provide an education pathway for refugee students to study, resettle, and obtain legal permanent residence in the U.S.
Read the Report on University Sponsorship of Refugee Students, which outlines a path and recommendations for the U.S. to develop, implement, and sustain a university sponsorship program for refugee students. The Toolkit provides information to spread awareness of The RESPONSE Campaign: College and University Sponsorship of Refugee Students.