NEWS

MIT and BU Programs Support Communities Working to Become More Age-Friendly

May 17, 2023

Through the generous sponsorship of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab and AARP Massachusetts, the MIT AgeLab’s Opportunities for Multigenerational Exchange, Growth and Action (OMEGA) program is proud to offer five $5000 college scholarships to recognize the efforts that teens are making to create multigenerational connections.

Additionally, the Boston University MetroBridge Program is available to support community-based initiatives, including Age-and Dementia Friendly efforts. The program is currently seeking government and community project partners for the 2023–2024 academic year, including summer 2023.

For the OMEGA Scholarship, high school juniors and seniors in the U.S. are eligible to apply. Each award will include a $5000 college scholarship to the winning student and $1000 to the winning student’s intergenerational initiative to support its activities. The OMEGA Scholarship is intended to amplify and support students’ contributions to building initiatives, organizations and institutions that connect teens with older adults.

Applications are due May 31, 2023. Winners will be announced in August 2023 and will be invited to present their work at a virtual OMEGA scholarship awards reception, the date of which is to be determined. More information on that program is available here.

The BU MetroBridge program embeds real-world projects for municipalities and community organizations into courses at BU, enlisting students and faculty as allies in addressing local issues. MetroBridge cultivates projects by seeking out the distinct research needs of cities, towns and community-based organizations and collaborating with faculty across the university to find the best course match for each project.

The MetroBridge team serves as a one-stop-shop and point-of-contact for project partners, supporting the project from idea submission to project completion. MetroBridge staff assist with project scoping and development, handle the matching of courses for each project, assist with project management, and ensure effective communication between BU and project liaisons. At the end of each semester, students present their work and the MetroBridge team coordinates the development of final deliverables.

MetroBridge at BU invites local governments and community-based organizations to submit project ideas for upcoming semesters. You can view a selection of recent MetroBridge projects here.

A member of our team will contact you after your submission. BU works to match each project idea with a course, but if they are unable to do so for the upcoming semester, your project idea will also be considered for future ones.

For more information and to apply, visit the MetroBridge website here.