$1 Million Global Technology Initiative Established By SJSU's College Of Engineering

San José State University's College of Engineering has established a $1 million Global Technology Initiative which is the first of its kind in the nation. Sponsored by business leaders in the high-technology industry who have strong business ties in Silicon Valley and the Asia Pacific region, the initiative was created to help SJSU students gain international knowledge and skills, and a first-hand global perspective on technology and business developments.

The first project sponsored by the initiative will be to develop a course of study, which will culminate in a two-week, all expense paid study tour of Taiwan and China for 20 top College of Engineering students in June 2004. Led by faculty and industry sponsors, the tour will include opportunities for students to learn from international business leaders.

"It is critical for our students to thrive in the highly competitive global economy," said Belle Wei, dean of the College of Engineering. "A successful global citizen is someone who can effectively come to terms with the dynamic of interconnectedness in our world. This initiative will help our students become better prepared to enter the workforce."

Sponsors of the initiative include: Sandy and Ruth Chau of Trident Investments; Her-Daw, CTO of Symphoniq Corp., and Jean Che; Wu-Fu and Ellen Chen, David and Cathy Tsang, Chester and Olivia Wang, general partners of Acorn Campus; Chun Chiu, co-founder of Integrated Device Technology, and Jane Chiu; James Hogan, senior vice president of Artisan Components; Hsun K. Chou, CEO of EICO; David Weng, vice president of Taiwan Industrial Technology Association, and Jessie Weng; and T.C. Wu, executive vice president of Atmel; and Yuh-Ning Chen, CEO of MarSoft.

The College of Engineering at San José State University has 3,486 undergraduate students and 1,761 graduate students with engineering programs in aerospace, chemical, computer, electrical, general, materials, mechanical, civil and environmental, industrial and systems, and aviation and technology.

Contact: Nancy L. Stake or Ron Bottini at 408-924-1166