Gov. Brian Kemp and a few dozen state and local officials visited Gwinnett Technical College on Monday to celebrate the beginning of a $37.8 million project that aims to educate more students interested in careers in cybersecurity and other emerging technologies as well as some bread-and-butter courses such as welding and physics.
The college broke ground on a computer information systems, cybersecurity and emerging technologies building near the southern end of its Lawrenceville campus. It is also adding 36,000 square feet to an existing building nearby.
“It is going to be a game changer for us and will really help us to continue to sell this state to those who want to expand here or move their business here,” Kemp told the crowd.
Cybersecurity is an increasingly popular subject for the college’s students. Enrollment in its program rose to more than 500 students in its first two years, Gwinnett Tech President D. Glen Cannon said in an interview. The college is also hoping to pull in more students interested in another hot career: video gaming. It is planning an eSports lab and a gaming technologies room. High school students taking dual enrollment courses at the college will be eligible for the gaming courses, Cannon said.
The new facility, scheduled to be completed in two years, is the first new building on the campus in 12 years. The entire project will include a new parking lot, renovations to its library, student life center and new chemistry and physics labs. The college is spending about $2 million on the entire project. The rest of the funding will come from state.
Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Greg Dozier added the project will train more students in other careers the system has traditionally focused on, such as auto mechanics and welding.
“It’s really going to meet the needs of this area,” Dozier said in an interview.
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