Twenty percent of Tech students hail from more than 100 countries outside the U.S. Around 40 percent of students participate in an international experience during by working, studying or researching abroad and, at this time, nearly 1,000 students are pursuing the International Plan. The Institute has hosted 150 exchange students during the last academic year.

On Thursday, Oct. 25, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed a proclamation deeming Nov. 12-16 International Education Week. The joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and Department of Education aims to highlight the growing importance of international education and exchange from both inbound (international students in the U.S.) and outbound (study abroad) perspectives.

Tech’s Office of International Education invites you to attend activities throughout the week to celebrate and acknowledge the importance of international education on campus. 

Monday

• International Coffee Hour sponsored by Global Jackets.
  6 p.m., Tec Rec, First floor of Student Center. Refreshments served.
• Movie Night showing Elite Squad II with introduction by Dr. Kirk Bowman.
  7 p.m., Student Center Theater.

Tuesday

• Through a Global Lens Photo Gallery.
  10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Crescent Room, Library. Rrefreshments served.

Wednesday

• BUZZwords (International Phrases & Pronunciation). 
  11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Room 205, Clough Commons. Refreshments served.
• International Karaoke Night sponsored by Global Jackets.
  7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Under the Couch, Second floor of the Student Center.

Thursday

• Italian Film Screening.
  11 a.m., Library East Commons.

Friday

• Lecture by Geoffrey Harris, Head of the Human Rights Unit for the European Parliament.
  1 p.m., Neely Room, Library.

Known as PIC Jackets–short for Panasonic Innovation Center-Jackets, the team was made up of students from Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), led by Fulbright scholar Adeel Yusuf, a computer engineering Ph.D. student who works with ECE Professor Vijay K. Madisetti. Joining Mr. Yusuf on the team were Jeffery Kuo, a senior computer engineering major, and Vince Li, a junior majoring in both computer engineering and mechanical engineering; both undergraduates are co-op students working at the Center this semester. The team was sponsored by Panasonic Automotive Systems of America (PASA) and mentored by Georgia Tech alumnus John Avery.

The SAE Convergence event featured 10 teams, including automotive original equipment manufacturers and Tier-1 suppliers, and was modeled after the Freescale Cup competition, which includes over 25,000 students, 9,500 teams, and 600 colleges and universities in 18 countries. The teams build, program, and race a model car around a track for speed, and the winning car is the one that completes the track in the fastest time without derailing.

This year, PIC Jackets was the only student team in the event, competing against professional engineers from the automotive industry and placing behind teams from Chrysler and Ford, respectively. Designing this autonomous car requires embedded software programming and basic circuit creation using Freescale parts included in the entry kit. Students then create motor control hardware and software to propel and steer their intelligent car, and they must also interface to a camera to navigate the car through the race course by following the guide line in the middle of the track.

The PIC Jackets began working on their car at the beginning of September and accelerated their efforts as the competition date drew closer. Mr. Kuo worked on coding and testing different mathematical concepts, including the final code, and Mr. Yusuf handled the mathematical modeling and optimization of the steering and speed of the car. Mr. Li was responsible for the test track and the mechanical aspects of the vehicle.

The team was not able to use the actual track until the day before the finals, so in practice runs the team innovated by sticking black tape over sheets of paper prior to the event. “Even after tireless efforts and careful mathematical calculations, we had to take the leap of faith to reach the podium,” said Mr. Yusuf. “As we were the only student team among the finalists, we are very proud of our finish in this competition.”

As part of the annual celebration of World Town Planning Day, Georgia Tech’s Student Planning Association hosted a panel discussion on 5 November about the proposals for a new Atlanta Falcons stadium.  The student group invited Representative Mike Dudgeon (R), Representative Rashard Taylor (D), Reverend Anthony Motley, and Georgia Tech's Dr. Benjamin Flowers to present the concerns and promote the opportunities that a partially tax-payer funded project could bring the city. Each speaker advocated for their positions through individual presentations and an audience question and answer session.  Endorsed by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), World Town Planning Day advances public and professional interest in planning throughout 30 countries around globe each November.