Abstract:

Georgia is a “resource-poor” country in terms of oil or gas, and depends on agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism to develop its economy. It has a critical shortage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals, educated to current international standards, graduating from their institutions of higher education. To address this problem, the Government of Georgia (GoG) and the United States Government, through the Millennium Challenge Account- Georgia (MCA Georgia), with funding from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent U.S. government agency with a board chaired by the U.S. Secretary of State, contracted with San Diego State University (SDSU) to collaborate with three top public universities in Georgia with the following goals:
• Providing US-style higher education with accredited Bachelor (B.S.) degrees in critical STEM disciplines;
• Accelerating recovery of Georgian higher education sector; and
• Helping economic development via workforce development.

As a requirement of its contract with MCA-Georgia, SDSU signed cooperation and partnership agreements with three premier public universities in Georgia: Tbilisi State University (TSU), Ilia State University (ISU), and Georgian Technical University (GTU). These agreements governed: Facility renovation and construction; faculty training; student and faculty exchanges; and finally, cooperation and assistance in curricular issues and guidance in acquisition of ABET accreditation and ACS certification in selected STEM disciplines. By signing the agreements, partner universities declared their readiness to collaborate and work cooperatively with SDSU to strengthen the quality of higher education in Georgia and to establish and develop U.S. STEM bachelor degree programs.

SDSU finalized its proposal development stage in 2013-14, and concluded an agreement with MCA-Georgia on July 28, 2014. Shortly after signing the agreement, SDSU started renovating facilities of the partner universities, and at the same time, started training faculty from the partner universities. In 2015, using the newly renovated facilities of its partner universities, SDSU started offering six STEM degree programs in Georgia. The five-year MCC Compact between the U.S. Government and the Government of Georgia ended on July 1, 2019. The partnership agreements between SDSU and TSU, ISU and GTU are extended until September 2023.

SDSU Georgia completed its fifth year of successful operation and partnership in Georgia. Five cohorts were recruited to its Bachelor’s programs. In June 2019, SDSU-G supplied its first cohort of graduates to the Georgian workforce. Close to 10,000 square meters of space was renovated or constructed for the partner. Over 100 faculty from partner universities were trained. All partner universities are expected to complete their capacity building and international accreditation processes by the end of 2023.

This paper presents the methodology and approach utilized by SDSU in addressing and fulfilling the goals of the partnership defined by the Government of Georgia and the MCC/ MCA. By 2023, SDSU’s involvement in Georgia will complete a decade. The impact of this innovative international cooperation and partnership model (among governments and public universities) on the recovery of the higher education sector in Georgia is analyzed and discussed. The pros-cons and challenges-benefits of the partnership model are also presented.

Keywords:

San Diego State University, SDSU, Georgia, International Cooperation, Government, TSU, ISU, GTU.