Published July 24 2015
Bellevue has been selected as the future home for the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX), an institute for technology and a partnership between the University of Washington and Tsinghua University in China with $40 million in foundational support from Microsoft Corp.
This is the first time a Chinese research university has established a physical presence in the United States. The Tsinghua University alumni are scheduled to attend the council meeting Monday, July 27, to congratulate the city for being selected as the home for GIX and will present the school's seal to the Bellevue City Council in celebration of these plans.
According to their website, Tsinghua University has 14 schools and 56 departments with faculties in science, engineering, humanities, law, medicine, history, philosophy, economics, management, education and art. The university has nearly 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students. As one of China's most renowned universities, Tsinghua has become an important institution for fostering talent and scientific research. The faculty greatly valued the interaction between Chinese and Western cultures, the sciences and humanities, the ancient and modern.
GIX is expected to attract top students, faculty, professionals and entrepreneurs from around the world to tackle some of the biggest technology and design challenges. GIX will offer an inaugural program based on a 15-month master's degree in technology innovation to support the growth in connected devices. Within a decade, UW expects more than 3,000 learners to be studying in a project-based environment.
GIX will be located in the city's Spring District and is scheduled to begin operating in the fall of 2016 in the BelRed area, which is a major commercial and residential neighborhood now under construction by developer Wright Runstad. Eventually, GIX is expected to occupy 100,000 square feet of space in the Spring District. BelRed is located between the UW and Microsoft's main campus in Redmond. In 2023, light rail will provide a direct link between the two campuses, with stops at the Spring District and downtown Bellevue, approximately one mile away.
Bellevue is the commercial, technology and innovation center for the Eastside with more than 136,000 jobs. A variety of major companies call Bellevue home, including Paccar, T-Mobile, Symetra, Puget Sound Energy and Esterline, with about 20 percent of Bellevue jobs in the information technology sector.
More than 38 percent of Bellevue's 134,400 residents are foreign born, and 33 percent of that population is from China. The city benefits from its international character and is proud to be considered a gateway to the Pacific Rim.