'Big Bets’ Refresh Georgia Tech Strategic Plan

Unveiled in 2020, Georgia Tech’s strategic plan mapped out a vision to expand the Institute’s impact worldwide in the coming decade. At this year’s annual address, President Ángel Cabrera discussed the progress made and outlined a refined approach to meeting the plan’s original goals.   

In February, Rockefeller Foundation President Rajiv Shah visited campus and shared the framework of a “big bet” — an idea that identifies innovative approaches to large-scale change. Four big bets were the central theme of the 2024 Institute Address:  

• Be a national leader in outcomes and value for all students. 

• Double the annual number of degrees granted and non-degree learners.  

• Double the scale and amplify the impact of our research enterprise. 

• Build a national hub for innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship in our city and around our campus. 

The Institute recently welcomed the largest incoming class in its history, with 5,300 students, and remains the nation’s fastest-growing public university. It contributed a record $5.3 billion to the state economy in the last fiscal year — the most of any institution in the University System of Georgia. “Our growth in scale and impact hasn’t just happened,” Cabrera said. “It is the result of intentional work and decisions we have made.”  

He then identified the steps forward for the Institute as it enters the critical second half of the plan’s implementation.  

Big Bet No. 1: Be a national leader in outcomes and value for all students. 

Georgia Tech consistently ranks among the top-value colleges in the nation for its return on investment. To ensure this remains the case, insulating students from the inflationary trends of higher education will be important. At Tech, when adjusted for inflation, in-state tuition and fees are 23% lower than five years ago, out-of-state tuition is 17% lower, and international tuition is 16% lower. Reaffirming a commitment to affordability, Cabrera stressed the importance of increasing access to financial aid for low-income students.  

“No talented student should have to give up on their dream of a Georgia Tech degree” for lack of money. “We need to keep working to convince these talented students that Georgia Tech is for them, and then make sure they have the resources to succeed here,” he said. 

Tech’s graduation rate for Pell Grant recipients ranks eighth in the nation at 86% but remains 8 percentage points below other students. The goal is to eliminate that gap in the next five years.  

Big Bet No. 2: Double the annual number of degrees granted and non-degree learners. 

The Institute has launched a new College — the College of Lifetime Learning, which will offer programs that elevate the academic study of learning and transform the future of education, from K-12 to post-retirement, ensuring that education is accessible at every stage of life. 

The Institute conferred 12,000 degrees this past academic year, and using 2019 as a baseline (7,500 degrees), the goal is to reach 15,000 by 2030. “Our focus on degrees awarded instead of enrollments is intentional,” Cabrera said. “We’re focusing not on how big we are but on how much impact we have. Graduates with degrees get good jobs, make money, grow families, pay taxes, and strengthen our communities. They help businesses grow or build their own business and that creates economic opportunity for others.” 

Tech has added 149 permanent academic faculty in the past year to accommodate a growing student body. Physical expansion continues on campus, with the progression of Tech Square Phase 3 and a new 860-bed residence hall set to open in 2026. The president also announced a “complete makeover” planned for the D.M. Smith Building and the Skiles Classroom Building.  

Big Bet No. 3: Double the Scale and Amplify the Impact of Our Research Enterprise  

The Institute’s research expenditures reached $1.34 billion last year. The president said Georgia Tech will expand its applied research efforts and build a think tank to “convene leaders across sectors and infuse technology and science considerations into policy and business decisions.” 

Research areas critical to this effort include artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity, electronics, energy, nanotechnology, space exploration, and sustainability. The recent launch of the AI Makerspace and the AI hub indicates Georgia Tech’s leadership in emerging technology, along with the awarding of grants totaling $119 million for technologies to improve the detection and treatment of cancer. Cabrera also celebrated the launch of the Space Research Initiative, the groundbreaking of a 10,000-square-foot aircraft hangar in the North Avenue Research Area, and plans for a new home for the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering as well as a medical innovation facility next to the Krone Engineered Biosystems Building.  

Big Bet No. 4: Build a national hub for innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship in our city and around campus. 

Reflecting on his time as a graduate student at Georgia Tech in the 1990s, Cabrera shared memories of campus and the transformational role of Tech Square as construction continues on its third and final phase.    

“Back in the 1990s, what we now call Tech Square was a brownfield of chain-link fences, broken windows, and abandoned buildings. When construction crews drive the final nail in 2026, Tech Square will have the infrastructure necessary to support programs, talent, culture, connections, and partnerships to become a premier hotbed for technological entrepreneurship in the country,” he said.    

Atlanta is among the top emerging tech cities in the nation, and with the continued development of Tech Square and the opening of the 370,000-square-foot Science Square this year, Georgia Tech is positioned to attract and develop even more startups.  

The president touted plans for the former Randall Brothers property at the corner of Marietta Street and North Avenue, which will support cutting-edge creative work at the intersection of technology, art, design, and business.  

Foundational Priorities 

To achieve these goals and continue to strengthen Georgia Tech, four foundational priorities will be key:  

• Promote the well-being of all members of the Georgia Tech community. 

• Build a model, sustainable campus that inspires and supports the well-being of people across the Institute and surrounding communities. 

• Improve campus services and processes to enhance the Georgia Tech experience for all. 

• Develop the full competitive potential of Georgia Tech Athletics. 

Learn more about the strategic plan, here. Watch the full 2024 Institute Address, here.