host and student

Hosts

Creating thousands of opportunities for scholarship and innovation

Each year nearly 1,000 MIT students are matched with hands-on projects abroad through MISTI. MISTI host companies and labs are a critical piece of the equation. Our hosts provide outstanding MIT students with life-changing personal and professional experiences.

Become a MISTI Host

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Contact a MISTI program manager to learn how your organization can host an MIT student.

How It Works

MIT students actively learn how to solve challenging problems through a combination of making, building, experimenting, and scaling. As MIT's international education program, MISTI strives to work with enthusiastic partners who share our passion for creating a better world.

MISTI recruits qualified student candidates and matches them with an international host organization and tailored internship, research and teaching experiences so they can take their knowledge abroad. Projects are designed to align the skills and interests of the student with the needs of the host, and priority placement is given to MIT students with technical knowledge, relevant experience, and language skills. 

Before departure, country-specific programs offer support for logistics and organize cultural preparation events for students. Upon return, students submit reports and serve as ambassadors for the program and host.

Benefits for Hosts

  • You and your team will have the opportunity to work firsthand with MIT students and gain privileged access to MIT’s research community 
  • Your team will gain valuable exposure to MIT’s hands-on learning and teaching methods
  • MIT students make meaningful contributions to your research; in fact, many MIT students have created patent-winning work, written academic articles and created new technologies during their MISTI internships
  • You’ll help extend MIT’s mission to your country, while promoting the global advancement of STEM studies.

I created a fully functional robotic arm for manufacturing processes using a new technology and BMW is submitting a patent based on my work!

Blair Gagnon, Junior in Mechanical Engineering

Logistics

Fall: Student candidates apply, interview with program managers, submit materials, and tailor applications for hosts.

Winter: Matching process, phone/Skype interviews, internship placements are offered.

Spring: Logistical arrangements (visa, housing, airfare) and preparation sessions on workplace and culture.

Summer: Projects commence. Typical summer internships last for 10-12 weeks.

Hosts are expected to provide a challenging project for students, and to oversee their progress throughout the internship. Student interns require a workspace and a supervisor. The majority of hosts provide a stipend to cover internship costs.

At the conclusion of their program, students are required to submit an internship report that can be shared with hosts. MISTI may send a host questionnaire to obtain feedback directly from the student’s supervisor.

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