By Shelley Wunder-Smith

Located in the city of Shenzhen — known as “China’s Silicon Valley” — is Georgia Tech’s newest international instructional site. The GT-Shenzhen campus offers some of the same courses taught at the Institute’s Atlanta campus, while also providing students with language and cultural immersion activities and opportunities to see real-world analytics applications in this vital part of the world.

“I am excited about the international opportunities GT-Shenzhen will provide for our students,” said Xiaoming Huo, A. Russell Chandler III professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and an associate director of the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) program. Huo oversees the MSA program at the Shenzhen campus, which opened its doors to the first cohort of China-based students in Fall 2021. The MSA is one of five master’s degrees offered at Shenzhen.

The MSA students at GT-Shenzhen study the same curriculum that their Stateside counterparts encounter as part of the MSA or OMSA (Online Master of Analytics) program. Because of this, U.S. students will soon be able to come to Shenzhen for a semester-long study abroad experience, similar to Georgia Tech-Europe.

One of Georgia Tech’s strategic focus areas is to “connect globally,” particularly in the areas of research, collaboration, industry, and education. The Shenzhen campus, Huo noted, is perfectly placed to help the Institute — and its students — accomplish this.

Forty years ago, Shenzhen was little more than a fishing village. Today, with a population of about 18 million, it is one of China’s fastest-growing technology centers, with the third-highest GDP in the country.

While Huo has received numerous inquiries from students about studying abroad at GT-Shenzhen, because of the pandemic, it been difficult to send U.S.-based students before this year. MSA and OMSA students are now encouraged to spend a semester at GT-Shenzhen.

“In Shenzhen, the technology sector is quite developed, and it’s also close to Hong Kong, which itself is a highly international city,” Huo said. “This will not only give our MSA students the chance to see how industry in China works; they will also be able to explore this very dynamic part of the world.”

MSA and OMSA students who are interested in study abroad opportunities can visit the GT-Shenzhen website for more information. Some study abroad scholarships are available.