The University of Washington has partnered with a Chinese research university to create a graduate institute in Bellevue’s Spring District — with $40 million in foundational backing from Microsoft — that will host international students and faculty set on finding global solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems.
A leader in advancing science and technology in China, Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong said during Thursday’s Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) announcement the institute is the first overseas platform for the research university.
Tackling global issues like poverty, disease and natural disasters will be addressed through project-based learning at GIX, with the goal of “common prosperity,” Yong said, adding more global research universities are expected to join GIX in the future.
GIX is slated to open in fall 2016, the first phase of construction calling for a 100,000-square-foot campus. Its first program will only include about 40 students, said interim UW President Ana Mari Cauce, but enrollment is expected to hit 3,000 by 2025.
“This is just the beginning,” she said. “Who knows where it will go?”
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s $40 million in foundational support for GIX comes on the heels of a $10 million gift to UW’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
“Microsoft was founded on the belief that technology can empower people to do amazing things and move societies forward,” Nadella said. “We are deeply committed to a long-term partnership with GIX.”
Wright Runstad President Greg Johnson said the development company is thrilled to have had its Spring District selected for the three-story GIX facility, as multiple sites around the region had been vetted. He added the facility is still in the design phase.
Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci said the city learned about the potential for an innovation center in Bellevue about a year ago, adding Bellevue makes sense for GIX due to its growing Chinese population.
“We were sworn to deep secrecy, and we didn’t even know everything until today,” Balducci said. “We’re all just really excited to host this kind of innovation.”
