Planning a Trek

Planning a trek gives you the opportunity to test your leadership skills, get an in-depth look at a particular industry or geography, and build contacts/community to help you in the future. There are three steps to planning any trek:

1

Get approved to run a trek

Complete the Trek Application
This gives you permission to use the MIT Sloan name when organizing your Trek. It must be completed at least two months before your Trek.
2

Plan your trek itinerary and meet with SLO

After completing the Trek application, you need to meet with Student Life. This meeting is mandatory.

1. Student Life - Eunice Shin for Domestic Treks, Paul Buckley for International Treks

Eunice or Paul will answer any questions you have about creating a trek on SloanGroups in order to collect deposits and trek fees, participant info (including emergency contacts), liability waivers, and more. They will also instruct you on final deliverables due to Student Life prior to your departure as well as explain payment, safety, and emergency protocols.

Depending on the nature of your trek, you may want to meet with OER and/or CDO:

2. Office of External Relations
Gregory Batcheler (Office of External Relations) can introduce you to local clubs and regional representatives who can help host and co-host events, introduce you to alumni with expertise in your field of interest and target geography, and discuss how to effectively contact and communicate with alumni. In your email, include information about your club, upcoming Trek, and suggest times to meet.

3. Career Development Office
Your CDO club liaison can help you prepare your outreach to companies and organize meetings. Not sure who your club liaison is? Find out here!
3
Post trek to SloanGroups with detailed itinerary

Trip must be posted to SloanGroups using the Student Organized Travel template. Must include:
- 1. Final detailed itinerary (including all companies you plan to visit) must be listed in the event description on SloanGroups.2. All attendees must be registered via SloanGroups. The Student Organized Travel template includes mandatory information required by MIT. Student Life will then go in and pull the list of participants with phone numbers, email addresses, MIT Sloan program (MBA, MFin, etc.) and graduation year, emergency contacts, and liability waivers.
- 2. All attendees must be registered via SloanGroups. The Student Organized Travel template includes mandatory information required by MIT. Student Life will then go in and pull the list of participants with phone numbers, email addresses, MIT Sloan program (MBA, MFin, etc.) and graduation year, emergency contacts, and liability waivers.

Some Helpful Links when planning a Trek

Trek Checklist
Make A Travel Health Appointment

Do's and dont's

✅ Do's

Apply for branding rights: Use the MIT Sloan name and club funds only after obtaining approval via the Trek Branding Rights Application.
Schedule wisely: Treks may be scheduled during SIP week, but be aware that some student groups (MBAn, EMBA, 1st-year MBA, Action Learning participants) will be unavailable due to required programming.
Ensure accessibility: All trek activities must be open and accessible to all attendees—no exclusivity.
Register travel: All MIT-related travel (domestic over 100 miles or international) must be registered via the MIT Travel Registry in accordance with MIT’s travel policy.
Post trek to SloanGroups with detailed itinerary: Use the Student Organized Travel template to collect emergency contact information, liability waivers, and payment from attendees. Be sure to include a detailed itinerary.

🚫 Don'ts

Don’t travel during class time: Students are not allowed to travel when classes are scheduled.
Don’t schedule during orientation: Treks may not take place during orientation week(s).
Don’t travel to restricted countries: Treks cannot take place in a country listed under a travel warning by MIT or the U.S. State Department.
Don’t sign contracts yourself: If you are asked to sign a contract, please reach out to Rebecca Bourke so that an appropriate MIT signatory can review and sign the contract. You are not authorized to sign contracts on behalf of MIT.
Don’t use Venmo or private accounts: Do not use personal payment platforms like Venmo for trek or club-related financial transactions. You must use an MIT student organization account.

Treks & insurance

International SOS

If you are traveling internationally, we strongly encourage you to register with International SOS (ISOS). MIT has contracted with International SOS to provide emergency medical and security evacuation services to students travelling abroad on MIT business. ISOS does not cover medical expenses and is not a substitute for personal health insurance.

Health insurance while abroad

If you are traveling internationally, ensure that every participant speaks to their health insurance provider in advance to determine what coverage they have. If your health insurance does not provide sufficient coverage for the destination you are travelling to, we recommend obtaining travel insurance. Travel insurance can cover a range of circumstances, including medical expenses, stolen or lost baggage, and cancellation.

Is your health insurance through MIT?

MIT Health offers the following advice: "If you are traveling abroad and are covered under one of the MIT insurance plans, you should be aware of the Blue Cross Worldwide Program. With this program, you can identify doctors and hospitals across the globe that have contracted with Blue Cross to provide care for patients. If you have your Blue Cross card with you, then the doctor or hospital will be able to bill Blue Cross directly for services. A list of participating doctors and hospitals is available on the Blue Cross Worldwide website."

Making a travel health appointment

MIT Health has a travel clinic with specially trained medical professionals to help you prepare for your trip. Make an appointment eight weeks before you leave to make sure you have all of the immunizations and prescriptions you need for safe travel.