Experts from around the world gathered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States in March for the second J-WEL Week, organized by the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL).

J-WEL Week aims to foster partnerships and knowledge exchange between academia, NGOs, regional and multilateral organizations, the private sector and other organizations in this field.

The four-day event featured more than 100 participants from 21 countries, including Brazil, China, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and the United States.

The theme of this year’s event, “Learning Communities of the Future”, saw participants from a range of areas discussing ideas for pushing forward learning and education in the Middle East and wider world, focusing on J-WEL’s three priority areas of interest: pre-school, primary and secondary school education; higher education; and workplace learning.

Attendees included university senior leadership, industry leaders, educators, government officials, and heads of leading foundations.

J-WEL Week 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.

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.”