On April 23, 2014, a six-person Georgia Tech delegation led by President Bud Peterson visited Shenzhen and held a media briefing to formally announce the Georgia Tech – Shenzhen Master of Science program in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).
The Georgia Tech event was blessed with strong support from the US Consulate General in Guangzhou, the Shenzhen Municipal Government, and the American Chamber of Commerce.
Consul General Jennifer Galt of the US Consulate General in Guangzhou delivered the opening remarks in fluent Chinese (video of the speech; transcript of the speech in Chinese; speech content in English). She emphasized that an investment in cooperative education programs between the U.S. and China is an investment that pays dividends for all of us. These programs bridge language barriers, open lines of communication, and connect people in both immediate and lasting ways. Georgia Tech’s program in Shenzhen is thus another terrific step forward in continuing to build relations between the United States and China. She was joined by a number of consular staff members at the event.
Mr. Guohui Gao, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, gave his remarks (video of the speech; speech in Chinese). He commented that the opening of the Georgia Tech program in Shenzhen is a fruitful outcome of the friend-city agreement between Shenzhen and Atlanta that was entered into a couple of years earlier. Shenzhen is a high tech city but lacks higher education resources thus Georgia Tech’s presence is highly appreciated by the government of Shenzhen.
President Bud Peterson’s speech outlined what the Georgia Tech program is about (video of the speech; speech in English; speech translated into Chinese). It was followed by remarks given by Vice Provost for International Initiatives Yves Berthelot who provided further details about the program (video of the speech; speech in English; speech translated into Chinese).
Mr. Harley Seyedin, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, and a recent recipient of the “Peace through Commerce Medal” originally initiated by Thomas Jefferson in 1790 when he was the first Secretary of State of the United States. Mr. Seyedin is among fewer than 20 individuals who have received this Medal since its inception. He remarked that if Mr. Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he would probably rename the Medal “Peace through Education and Commerce” emphasizing the important role that education plays in building a peaceful world. In terms of meeting industry demands, Mr. Seyedin strongly believes that the Georgia Tech – Shenzhen graduates will be highly sought after by multinational companies. Watch the video of Mr. Seyedin’s exuberant speech.
Dr. Bin Lu, Director, Eaton Corporate Research & Technology – China delivered his remarks from the perspectives of an industry partner as well as a Georgia Tech alum.
Georgia Tech produces the largest number of women engineers in the United States and women engineering students are highly cherished at Georgia Tech. Three former and one incoming Georgia Tech female engineering students joined Director of Georgia Tech – Shenzhen, Professor G. Tong Zhou, all wearing pink sunglasses, in a call for women students to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Women students are warmly welcome to join the Georgia Tech – Shenzhen family (video; content of speech).
A Q/A session followed at the end of the media briefing.
In attendance were also the following Shenzhen Municipal government leaders: Dr. Jian Lu, Director-General, Shenzhen Science, Technology and Innovation Commission; Ms. Yurong Guo, Director, Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau; Ms. Xuan Qiu, Deputy Director-General, Shenzhen Science, Technology and Innovation Commission; Mr. Jianling Xu, Director, Higher Education Division of Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau; Zhijun Huang, Director, Shenzhen Internationalization Promotion Committee.
Dr. Wenping Hu, Assistant President of Tianjin University, industry partner representatives from China Construction Bank, Cypress Semiconductor, DTS, Eaton, Guangdong Solid State Lighting Industry Innovation Center, Shanghai Bell, ZTE, as well as a number of Georgia Tech alumni also attended the event.