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MIT staff and students work on a research project funded by a J-WEL innovation grant
Education Innovation Grants

The MIT Jameel World Education Lab funds innovative research projects from across MIT that connect evidence and ideas in creative ways to improve learning on campus and across the world.

Fueling educational innovation

The MIT Jameel World Education Lab's grants in Education Innovation support innovative research from across the Institute that is designed to improve learning on our campus and across the world.

Our grants enable MIT innovators to connect evidence and ideas in creative ways that will reduce barriers to learning, including lack of access. Grantees explore teaching methods, tools for learning, new approaches to engagement, and new topics. Methods include quantitative and qualitative research into effectiveness and outcomes as well as field tests of new ideas and collaborative development of tools and materials.

Education Innovation grant applications are now open

The MIT Jameel World Education Lab is now accepting research proposals from MIT faculty members and principal investigators to fund AY2026 projects designed to improve learning on our campus and across the world. Applications close at 11:59PM, Wednesday,  February 5, 2025. ‍

View the full call for applications, preview the application questions, and apply here.

Priority topics

We encourage proposals that address J-WEL’s priority topics for 2025: sustainability, AI for education, and campus innovation pipelines. Learn more about each priority topic in the full call for applications.

Selection criteria

To evaluate proposals, we assess: 1) alignment with our priority topics; 2) cost-effectiveness; 3) MIT department support; 4) grounding in evidence; and 5) potential to deliver unique contributions to global educational transformation in keeping with J-WEL goals and approaches.

We plan to award grants ranging from $20,000 to $80,000, with funds to be disbursed by late June 2025.

A brief workplan and budget is required. Design the proposed work to be completed within the academic year. J-WEL grants incur no overhead fees.

Timeline and review process

Proposals are due during the first week of the Spring semester. Deadline: 11:59 pm on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. The J-WEL team will host information sessions in January 2025.

Access the application portal and download the application questions to aid your planning. Questions? Contact us via email j-wel-grants@mit.edu.

We will announce this year’s grant recipients in April 2025.

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“Our Education Innovation Grants support MIT research that can improve learning everywhere. We share ideas, disseminate emerging findings, and collaborate with innovators who join us to lead global change in education. Educators in dozens of countries will learn from this year’s inspiring efforts to tackle core challenges in education with innovative new methods and means. Through light-up sneakers, glassblowing, and autonomous vehicles, grantees are enabling learning from curriculum-linked real-world projects, prototyping effective ways to embed evidence-based insights and research into the design of learning experiences, and enabling transitional learners to benefit from high-quality education.”

          - Anjali Sastry, Faculty Director, MIT Jameel World Education Lab

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to apply for a J-WEL Education Innovation grant?

Faculty members and Principal Investigators are eligible to apply for J-WEL grants. Others may apply on behalf of a team that includes a Faculty or PI (such applications require a statement from the collaborating Faculty or PI). This year, members of the Digital Learning Lab are eligible for special consideration as independent researchers.

Whether they are applicant or team member, the identified lead Faculty or PI should participate significantly throughout the project and oversee the work. Grant activities, including design, development, testing, and documentation may also involve students, postdocs, and others.

Employees of MIT Open Learning whose work falls entirely within Open Learning are not eligible for J-WEL grants. OL staff who are collaborating with researchers or faculty elsewhere at MIT are encouraged to apply through the collaboration anchored elsewhere at MIT.

All proposals require a letter of support from your department chair by the deadline.

When does the application portal open? When is the deadline to submit a proposal?

The application portal for AY2026 projects is now open. We review all proposals once submissions have closed in February 2025. The J-WEL Faculty Advisory Committee, chaired by Prof. John Brisson, along with other J-WEL affiliated reviewers, rigorously review grant applications before selecting proposals for funding in keeping with the criteria we have outlined and available funding.

We will announce this year’s grant recipients in April. Funds will be made available by the end of June.

Can I review the application questions prior to entering the application portal?

A PDF of all application questions can be viewed here.

Is there a maximum amount of funding a project can request?

Proposals may request up to $80,000.

Where can I access the budget template before entering the application portal?

The budget template can be viewed here.

Recent Grants

In 2024, the MIT Jameel World Education Lab awarded Education Innovation grants to 11 research projects that are leveraging artificial intelligence tools for learning, exploring low-tech ways to expand access to STEM education, and developing new materials, approaches, and curriculum to improve equity and quality of learning experiences:

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2024

Bridging STEM education gaps: fostering aspirations through learning festivals and deployable learning toolkits in underserved American communities

J. Kim Vandiver
Professor and Director of the Edgerton Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Education quality often lags in rural areas and correctional facilities due to funding disparities. For over a decade, MIT Spokes, a student-led team committed to narrowing the educational gap in STEM disciplines among rural, low-income, and underserved communities nationwide, has cycled cross-country, delivering STEM workshops to elevate aspirations and provide resources. They implement hands-on learning kits during one-day festivals, tailored to community needs. By engaging with stakeholders and refining their approach, Spokes aims to maximize impact and open opportunities for students unfamiliar with institutions like MIT.

2024

Empowering global synthetic biology learners using a robotic cloud lab network for enabling collaborative, scalable research projects

David S. Kong
Research Scientist, MIT Media Lab

To enhance bio literacy and engagement with synthetic biology, Kong aims to expand the MIT Media Lab course, How to Grow (Almost) Anything, by creating a global “robotic cloud lab network,” allowing users without regular access to wet labs the opportunity to experiment and create. This network, organized by MIT, Harvard researchers, and supported by global teaching assistants, will provide community labs with programmable robots and supplies and a handbook to guide learning exercises. In Spring 2025, Kong will execute a global research project on protein therapies for antibiotic-resistant bacteria across the robotic cloud lab network.

2024

Games for climate education: developing game-based facilitation of the En-ROADS climate simulator

Lana Cook
Associate Director, MIT Systems Awareness Lab
Eric Klopfer
Director, MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program; Head of MIT Comparative Media Studies / Writing

Climate Interactive’s innovative climate change simulator En-ROADS has been very successful in engaging participants to think about the impact of alternative policies and actions to mitigate and reverse the effects of climate change. Yet, meaningful shifts in understanding, policy, and action require education and understanding at massively greater scales than are currently possible with the En-ROADS facilitation model. Expanding on prior work, Cook and Klopfer seek to explore game-based facilitation and the scaling of such a solution.

2024

SIDAI – Scope, Ideate, and Develop with Artificial Intelligence: developing and evaluating a web-based platform and a chatbot teaching assistant for teaching problem-solving in higher education

Rea Lavi
Digital Education Lecturer and Curriculum Designer, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Organizations are emphasizing creative problem solving, system analysis, and conscientious decision-making to tackle complex, ill-structured problems. Active learning supports these skills but its implementation faces barriers like large class sizes, preparation time, and student resistance. Generative AI integration in education is complex but promising. Through the development of SIDAI, a web-based platform, and its chatbot Sid, Lavi intends to create tools that assist in active learning and provide personalized feedback to students, aiming to enhance teaching and learning experiences.

See More Grant Recipients