Fresh Perspectives on Economic Development in Georgia

- How would integrating light industry into mixed-use urban development strengthen Georgia’s cities?

- What impact has the film, television, and digital media tax credit had on Georgia and what have other states done to evaluate the impact?

- With gaps in the supply of workers for high-end manual and technical occupations only getting worse as older workers retire, how will Georgia address this problem?

- What is smart grid and how important is it to the Georgia economy?

Learn the answers on September 11, 2012, when four Georgia Tech graduate students publically present results of their summer internship research projects. We invite you to join us and other economic developers and policy-makers in attending the interns’ readout sessions at Technology Square in Midtown Atlanta. Admission is free, and a complimentary box lunch will be provided for the first 30 to walk in the door.

Featured Presenters:

Dan Cotter, a master’s student in the School of City and Regional Planning, explored how integrating light industry into mixed-use urban development could economically strengthen Georgia’s cities, suing Atlanta as an example. He picked three target industry groups to investigate and came up with recommendations and tools for incorporating light industry into mixed-use development.

Alison Pienta, a master’s student in the School of City and Regional Planning, picked Georgia’s aerospace industry to examine how its need for high-end manual and technical workers is being met the state’s technical colleges and whether other programs may help to fill the demand. Her research answers questions such as (1) are programs currently offered by technical colleges a good fit for companies and job openings, (2) what can be done to ensure that the workforce skillsets align with available jobs in the aerospace industry, and (3) are there short-term workforce fixes for this industry that can be implemented?