Speech from Georgia Tech Vice Provost for International Initiatives (English)
Speech by Vice Provost Yves Berthelot at the
April 23, 2014 Georgia Tech Shenzhen Media Briefing
My name is Yves Berthelot and I am Vice Provost at Georgia Tech, in charge of international initiatives. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you in greater details, our Master degree program to be offered in Shenzhen.
First, let me tell you that I am incredibly excited about the opportunity to launch this new program. I view it as one of our most significant new international initiatives today and I want to thank Prof. G. Tong Zhou for her outstanding leadership in launching this new program. Students in the Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering degree program need to complete 10 courses in 3 semesters. At Georgia Tech, Electrical and Computer Engineering is very broad and encompasses telecommunications, microelectronics, VLSI, electronic design and application, optoelectronics, electric power, automatic control, signal processing, electromagnetics, computer systems, and bioengineering. Electrical and Computer Engineering is a very practical degree and is highly relevant to the industries in Shenzhen.
Our Shenzhen program will have the following characteristics: (i) High quality; (ii) International atmosphere; and (iii) Outstanding outcomes for the students.
First let’s talk about quality. Georgia Tech is a highly ranked university known for its engineering programs. Our Shenzhen program faculty will be sent from Atlanta, each staying in Shenzhen for about 3 months. This ensures that what and how we teach in Shenzhen will be the same as in Atlanta. We can sustain the faculty rotations because Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering is the largest such academic unit in the United States.
The Master of Science degree that we offer in Shenzhen is the same degree that we offer in Atlanta. The diploma will also be the same and will not indicate Shenzhen or China. In order for us to accomplish that, quality control measures must be in place. We must apply the same admission requirements to include TOEFL, GRE and GPA requirements. We must teach from the same course catalog and assess students the same way as we do in Atlanta. Each Shenzhen student will have a Georgia Tech student account, email, web space, access to course materials, digital library and other online resources. Courses that the Shenzhen students take will automatically appear on their Georgia Tech transcript. The degree requirements are the same as in Atlanta. Upon completing their degree, the students can come to Atlanta to participate in the graduation ceremony alongside Atlanta students.
Our Shenzhen program will have a rich international atmosphere. As mentioned earlier, the professors will be sent from Atlanta and will teach the courses in English. We expect the student body to be diverse, consisting of Chinese students, American students, and students from other countries. President Obama has announced the “100,000 Strong” initiative to urge American students to study abroad in China. For graduate students in engineering, ours is a unique platform where students can receive quality US education in China. We have scholarships available to specifically target American students to come to Shenzhen. The mix of American and Chinese students, some of the very best in the world, will be a truly remarkable opportunity for our young men and women not only to learn technological skills but also to experience cultural interactions and understanding that will last a lifetime.
It takes 3 semesters to complete the Georgia Tech Master degree requirements. In the 3rd semester, Shenzhen students can choose to study in Shenzhen, in Atlanta, or at the Georgia Tech Lorraine campus in France. Since 1990, Georgia Tech has had a campus in France, and I also happen to be its President. Imagine a Master degree from one of the very best technological research universities in the world, where you spend time studying in China, in France, or in the US. Georgia Tech is truly global! Take advantage of it as it will launch your career.
Students who graduate from the Shenzhen program will have a bright future. I would like to mention that this is not a new program for us. We have been offering this Master degree program inside Shanghai Jiao Tong University for the past 8 years and we have graduated over 200 Master students. Our Georgia Tech Shanghai students have had tremendous successes with job offers or opportunities to pursue PhD studies in the US or Canada. We are very pleased that a few of our Shanghai program graduates are with us here today. Jinming Shao and Coco Zheng are currently working for JP Morgan in Hong Kong. Xiaolin Liang is working for IBM in Shenzhen. Qian Zhou has recently received offer to pursue PhD studies at the University of British Columbia in Canada. We are relocating our Shanghai program to Shenzhen because we have a great opportunity to grow our program in Shenzhen.
We will be partnering with companies to offer internship positions to our Shenzhen program students. I am pleased to see representatives from Cypress Semiconductor, DTS, and Eaton here today, all are US companies with presence in Asia. We also have representatives from ZTE and Guangdong Solid State Lighting Industry Innovation Center. We anticipate that a growing number of companies will partner with us and see our program as a producer of outstanding human capital for industry.
Our Shenzhen program is very flexible, and we will help students to customize program plans so they can blend in industry or study abroad experiences if they wish. For example, one student may choose to study for 3 semesters straight in Shenzhen and then go to the US for the PhD program, another student may choose to study in Shenzhen for a semester, engage in full-time internship for a semester, study in Shenzhen for a 2nd semester, and then go to Atlanta for the final semester. A number of combinations are feasible. Students will make the choice depending on the types of experiences that they desire.
In summary, our Georgia Tech Shenzhen Master degree program will be a top notch program like what we have in Atlanta except that it is located in Shenzhen. The good news is that the Shenzhen program tuition and fees will be at a much lower rate than in Atlanta. I have great ambitions for the growth of our GT-Shenzhen program. We will be happy to answer questions during the Q/A session.
Last revised May 2, 2014.