MITdesignX is an academic program in the MIT Morningside Academy for Design dedicated to design innovation and entrepreneurship. We empower students, faculty and researchers as they build new business ventures and forward-thinking solutions designed to address critical challenges facing the future of cities and the human environment.

MITdesignX provides resources to build new solutions, systems and ventures. Successful ventures exist at the intersection of design, business, science and technology. Interdisciplinary teams of creative thinkers and makers fast-track the development of their innovations and launch ventures into the marketplace. We turn ideas into action.

We look for creative innovators dedicated to improving the quality of life in cities and the human environment. MITdesignX seeks diverse, interdisciplinary teams working on challenging ideas with clear vision, passion and a drive to design solutions and launch real ventures.

Each Fall, applicants go through a rigorous selection process that reviews venture designs and ideas based on human and social impact, feasibility, uniqueness, and scalability as well as team composition, diversity and skillset. Finalists pitch before a panel of judges to enter the program.

Applicants may include graduate students, researchers, staff and/or faculty members from MIT and their collaborators in other universities and beyond.

Teams in MITdesignX have included participants from across the institute including SA+P, computer science, engineering, management, biology, and the humanities.

The first step of the framework is to understand the need or problem the new venture is being designed to solve. The teams engage directly with people and stakeholders to learn as much as possible about who they are, and what are their needs and pain points. Based on that understanding, the second step is to clearly define the core concept/function/product/service that will provide the required solution. The third step is to envision what the venture and its founders want to achieve, and define the fundamental principles that will guide their decision making, development and operations including financing of the venture. The fourth and final step is focused on developing a master plan of priorities, people, processes and funds needed to effectively scale and launch the venture.

At the end of the program, all teams will have developed a prototype, investor pitch deck and a “masterplan” for their venture – outlining key actions and strategies. The accelerator program culminates with a pitch night for teams to introduce their ventures to hundreds of investors, stakeholders, civic and industry partners.

Research is at the core of the MITdesignX program. The academic framework of the accelerator is reinforced by discovery of new knowledge through rigorous research and learning experiences examining disruption and innovation within the design and urban domains. Co-creation, collaboration, and the exploration of ideas fuel the discovery process and aid the innovative strategies of MITdesignX teams. This discovery process draws on advanced research projects led by faculty and researchers focused on entrepreneurial performance, education for innovation and design solutions for cities and the human environment.

Each summer, a group of paid internships are provided for students at SA+P to work with new startups created by fellows at Our Generation Speaks (OGS). OGS, based at Brandeis University, hosts Israeli and Palestinian entrepreneurs in Boston for 3 months to live, learn and work together in pursuit of new ventures and peaceful coexistence.

MITdesignX and MISTI (MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives) has partnered with OGS to provide curriculum, mentorship and the support of MIT students to Israeli and Palestinian fellows with backgrounds in design and planning. Interns spend all of August with the startups in addition to a trip to the region during the following IAP.

Our work and the work of MITdesignX ventures is designed to have a global impact. Through several international partnerships, we expand academic and venture networks for our students, faculty and researchers. Projects include workshop series with Reykjavik University and Eyrir Venture Management in Iceland, our Venice accelerator, Hong Kong and Mexico City workshops, and the OGS/MISTI program with Israeli and Palestinian entrepreneurs. In addition, alumni teams from MITdesignX are working and making an impact around the world.