The 40 for 40 Drive celebrates the MIT Media Lab's 40th anniversary in 2025, aiming to secure $40 million in additional support by the end of the fiscal year 2025 (June 30, 2026). It is designed to equip the Media Lab for the next 40 years, enabling the creation of innovative technologies that promise to enhance the human experience tomorrow.
Here's how MIT and Media Lab alumni, friends, corporations, and foundations can contribute to shaping this future:
- $10+ Million for the Director’s Innovation Fund
This fund is dedicated to exploring new research avenues and supporting collaborative projects across different research consortiums. - $10+ Million for Professorship Support
Contributions will support faculty positions in several critical areas:
— Energy and climate research, aligning with MIT’s Climate Project initiatives
— Health and wellbeing, including women’s health
— Life with AI: AI and human experience for equitable societal advancements
— Cultivating Creativity: Fostering artistic and creative innovations
— Constructivist Learning: Innovations in educational methods
— Space exploration and living conditions
— Named Professorships ($6 million) - $10+ Million for Media Lab Graduate Student Fellowships
To offer equitable educational opportunities for exceptional graduate students by:
— Providing 40 fellowships over the next decade, supporting four scholars annually with $150,000 each per year, for a minimum of two years. The total investment for these new fellowships is $6 million. — Endowing two Named Media Lab Fellowships: $4 million
— Donors may also earmark their contributions for specific areas of study - $10+ Million for Flagship Research Initiatives
These funds will bolster research in areas critical to human betterment, including:
— Energy and climate research: sustainability and carbon emission reduction
— Health and wellbeing, with an emphasis on women’s health
— AI applications for equitable societal advancements
— Cultivating Creativity, global approaches to nurturing all people to be creative
— Constructivist learning approaches in education
— Space exploration with a global impact
— Opportunities exist to establish named research funds ($1 million - $2 million per research area) and to provide current-use research support starting at $250,000
Contributions of All Sizes
Donations of any amount are welcome and can be designated to the Media Lab Director’s Fund for strategic use.