Community Jameel and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) today celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the Jameel-Toyota scholarship at a reception held on the MIT campus. The reception was attended by MIT's president, Sally Kornbluth, and chancellor, Melissa Nobles, Community Jameel's vice chairman, Fady Jameel, and director, George Richards, together with current and past Jameel-Toyota scholars and MIT staff and faculty.
Launched by Community Jameel and MIT in 1994, the scholarship provides financial support to undergraduate students at MIT, helping them fulfil their potential. Students from more than 27 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia, are eligible, with priority for students who are refugees, asylum-seekers and internally-displaced persons.
To date, more than 215 students have been supported by the scholarship, pursuing studies at MIT ranging from engineering to life sciences and the arts.
MIT president Sally Kornbluth said: “We’re delighted to celebrate the MIT Jameel-Toyota scholarship, which for three decades has helped us attract the most talented students from around the world to MIT. The Jameel-Toyota scholars come here to fulfil their potential, but they give back even more, enriching the MIT community with their energy, dedication and drive.”
Fady Jameel, vice chairman of Community Jameel, said: “We are very pleased to be celebrating 30 years of our partnership with MIT through the Jameel-Toyota scholarship. The scholarship is part of our longstanding relationship with the Toyota Motor Corporation and we hope to continue to support more students realise their highest academic potential.”
The scholarship is named in recognition of the longstanding and close relationship between the Jameel family and the Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan. Mohammed Jameel KBE, founder and chairman of Community Jameel, is an alumnus of MIT and a life member of the MIT Corporation, its board of trustees.
Among the reception attendees were representatives from the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, the MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab, the MIT Jameel World Education Lab and the MIT Jameel Clinic.