Tsinghua and UW announce dual degree program through the Global Innovation Exchange

Tsinghua University and The University of Washington have agreed to launch an integrated dual degree program through the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) that combines project-based learning in design thinking, technology development and entrepreneurship, leaders from both universities announced during an event Monday morning in Beijing.

It is the first dual degree program to be announced through GIX, a new model of learning designed to fuel innovation and foster collaborations on a worldwide scale. The dual degree program that will be jointly designed and taught by both faculties is expected to launch in the fall of 2016. After one year of study in Tsinghua, students will move to the new GIX location in Bellevue, Washington, which will be ready by fall 2017. After that, new students will start from GIX each year.

The dual degree program focuses on creating innovative user experiences with connected devices and other technologies, as well as developing entrepreneurial skills to bring them to market.

Housed in a new facility under development in Bellevue's Spring District, GIX will pioneer new models of teaching and learning that prepare students to succeed and make meaningful contributions in a 21st century global economy. The partnership between the UW and Tsinghua will grow with additional degree and certificate programs and fields of study over the next decade.

With foundational support from Microsoft — and through future partnerships with other world-class companies and additional research universities — students will have access to top faculty, innovators and entrepreneurs. Under the guidance of UW and Tsinghua faculty, as well as industry mentors, students will develop product ideas that solve a specific problem or address a global challenge, collaborate in small teams to take an idea to prototype and prepare to turn concepts into viable business ventures.