News
Date: 2021-02-11

STEM Lecture Series Introduces Georgian Students to Graduate Opportunities in San Diego

The ongoing project to “Support STEM Research and Graduate Education in Georgia,” created by SDSU Distinguished Professor Dr. Walter Oechel, has continued its mini-lecture series with a three-part course that took place January 27-29, 2021. 

Opening remarks were delivered by the sponsors and supporters of the project - Magda Magradze, CEO of the Millennium Foundation, Christopher Anderson, Cultural Attaché of the US Embassy in Georgia, Dr. Halil Güven, Dean of SDSU Georgia, and Dr. Walter Oechel, PI and Distinguished Professor from SDSU. 

The goal of this mini-course was to introduce Georgian students and researchers to potential doctoral opportunities on the SDSU main campus. The programs showcased the variety of STEM doctoral programs available.

SDSU Doctoral Programs in STEM - Sciences took place on January 27. Seven program directors from SDSU attended and presented on the doctoral programs available in fields ranging from chemistry to geophysics.

SDSU Doctoral Programs in STEM - Computational and Engineering Sciences took place on January 28. Two program directors from SDSU attended and presented on the different types of engineering and computational doctoral programs available at SDSU.

SDSU Doctoral Programs in STEM - Education and Health-Related Fields took place on January 29. Five program directors from SDSU attended and presented on education and health-related doctoral programs.

During this mini-course, Nino Chelidze, Director of the International Education Center gave a presentation about financial aid opportunities for students to study abroad. The International Education Center, with support from the Millennium Foundation, partnered with San Diego State University in 2018, to offer a scholarship program “Academic Programs at San Diego State University”. The stipend program supports SDSU Georgia’s Chemistry/Biochemistry senior students to acquire scholarships for their graduate studies on the Master and Ph.D. level at San Diego State University. The scholarship amount is 50,000 USD over the 5-year period and includes tuition, travel, health insurance, and other related costs. Up to this date, six SDSU Georgia students have been funded through the program, to continue their graduate studies at SDSU, California, U.S.

After the presentations concluded for each session Dr. Nodar Surguladze, Tertiary Education Director of the Millennium Foundation, hosted a brief Q&A session with the attendees and presenters before the closing remarks.

This lecture series is designed to create connections between SDSU home campus professors and STEM researchers and the Georgian academic community, as well as increasing awareness of modern research and scientific publishing methodology. The recent three-part mini-series was a big success, with over 300 individuals participating via Zoom over the three-day course.