MIT graduates are world-renowned for their technical proficiency, but technical proficiency is not enough for scientists and engineers to solve the complex and challenging problems of our time.

Most technical universities recognize that effective teamwork, leadership, and communication skills are required to turn ideas into impact, and developing them should be an integral part of a technical education; yet an unmet need remains. The MIT Technical Leadership and Communication Programs (TLC) address this need by equipping students and trainees – from sophomores to postdocs – with the teamwork, leadership, and communication skills that they need to succeed in the real world. 

The programs work independently and synergize together to foster cohort-based experiential learning while leveraging MIT’s rich network of partners and alumni. Sophomores develop career readiness through UPOP, juniors and seniors develop a breadth of engineering leadership skills through GEL, graduate students develop a deep understanding of engineering leadership through GradEL, and graduate students and postdocs develop technical communication skills through the Comm Lab.