On May 30, San Diego State University hosted the 2023 Commencement Ceremony at Shota Rustaveli National Theater. This year, San Diego State University's programs have 103 graduates in Georgia, 40% of whom are women and 66% of current graduates completed their studies with honors.
"Today, we celebrate the graduation of the fifth cohort of San Diego State University-Georgia (SDSU) programs under the Millennium Challenge Compact. SDSU has been operating in Georgia since 2014 through collaboration between the US and Georgian governments, in partnership with three partner universities and the private sector. As a result, more than 500 students were able to receive an American education and diploma in Georgia. The project is the best example of the strategic partnership between the USA and Georgia and contributes to the development of human capital in the country," said Magda Maghradze, CEO of the Millennium Foundation.
The Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Giorgi Amilakhvari, congratulated the graduates on completing their studies and wished them success in their future activities. At the ceremony, a memorandum of cooperation was also signed between the Ministry of Education and Science and San Diego State University. Within the scope of a new agreement, San Diego State University in cooperation with partner universities - Tbilisi State University, Ilia State University, Georgian Technical University, will continue its operation in Georgia to enroll 90 students for three English-language bachelor's programs: computer science, computer engineering and civil engineering. The programs have been announced and students can be accepted from the 2023-2024 academic year.
"After nine years of very important cooperation, the partnership between San Diego State University and our three leading state universities (TSU, STU, IliaUni) will continue for another 4 years. The mentioned project will be jointly funded by the Government of Georgia and San Diego State University with an investment of 5 million US dollars. We believe that this is the most important project implemented between Georgia and the USA in higher education, and that's why we decided to continue this fruitful cooperation for another four years," said Giorgi Amilakhvari.
The academic delegation from San Diego State University, led by the President of the University, Adela de la Torre, visited Georgia especially for this ceremony from California.
The event was attended by 2023 graduates, their families and invited guests, the representatives of the Government of Georgia, the US Embassy in Georgia and the Millennium Foundation, project partners, rectors and administrative staff of the partner Georgian higher education institutions (Tbilisi State University, Ilia State University, Georgian Technical University), San Diego State University-Georgia Supervisory Board Members and Public-Partnership Fund Donors.
San Diego State University's partnership with Georgia during 2015-2023 was funded by the US and Georgian Governments, under the Second Compact of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The total budget of the project is 63 million USD, of which 33 million USD was provided by the US government, the rest by the Government of Georgia, and 3 million USD by private donors.
As a result, since 2015, San Diego State University has been offering students in Georgia high-quality, internationally accredited (ABET, ACS, WASC), US undergraduate programs in science and engineering (STEM) fields.
