In 1995, the then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad and a delegation from Malaysia made a working visit to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and endorsed the establishment of a university modelled after MIT. An agreement was signed in January 1997 to establish the Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST). In its formative years, MUST was fully assisted and supported by MIT, a world-renowned university noted for its education and research in advanced science and technology.