This afternoon (local time), Minister of State Gemkow, Prof. Staudinger and the senior vice president of the world’s largest chip manufacturer TSMC, Lora Ho, signed a cooperation agreement to intensify trilateral cooperation through a new exchange program. The program is specifically designed to train German STEM students for careers in the semiconductor industry. Under the agreement, up to 100 high-performing students per year will participate in a six-month exchange program in Taiwan to expand talent development, global partnerships and cultural exchanges with top universities in Taiwan.
The TUD will coordinate the recruitment of students from several universities in Saxony, and the Free State of Saxony will provide financial support. During the program, students will complete an established semiconductor curriculum at host universities and undergo two months of hands-on training at TSMC’s Newcomer Training Center and manufacturing facility in Taichung during a six-month stay abroad in Taiwan. TSMC engineers will teach students first-hand the fundamental concepts of the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Students will earn a total of fifteen credits by participating in the six-month exchange program.
Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow said, “The program offers a great opportunity for anyone who wants to gain a foothold in the semiconductor industry. We need customized curricula in academic education that are geared to the needs of industry, especially in the field of microelectronics. Everyone benefits from this unique collaboration… the universities, the industrial partner TSMC and also our home regions of Saxony and Taiwan. We are organizing a real exchange of skilled workers based on university cooperation. I wish that we can expand this model even further and open it up to even more interested parties.”
“In the fields of micro- and nanoelectronics as well as advanced materials science, TUD has built up globally recognized expertise in research and teaching over many decades,” said Prof. Ursula Staudinger, rector of TUD. “The new exchange program with integrated study abroad in Taiwan will give engineering a further boost and help attract more young people to these fields of study, thus training highly qualified specialists for the semiconductor industry. This is a triple win: for TSMC, for Saxony and for us as a university. I am very pleased that we are now working together to realize this vision.”
“We are excited to launch this exchange program with the Free State of Saxony and TUD, which will foster the next generation of semiconductor talent and promote cross-border collaboration,” said Lora Ho, senior vice president, Human Resources at TSMC. “We understand the importance of investing in talent development to drive innovation, and this program reflects our commitment to support the growth and development of the industry in Europe and beyond.”
This program underpins TSMC’s commitment to jointly invest in the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC) GmbH in Dresden and create approximately 2,000 direct high-tech jobs by the end of 2027.
The Saxon Ministry of Science is supporting these activities with several million euros. (500,000 euros per year to finance the stay abroad of visiting students in Taiwan as part of the Talent Incubation Program and about one million euros for the operation and project costs of the coordination office.)
Technical University of Dresden (TUD)
The TUD is one of the largest technical universities in Germany and one of eleven universities of excellence. With 17 faculties in five areas, it offers a wide range of 119 degree programs and covers a broad spectrum of research with particular emphasis on the fields of life sciences, quantum materials, microelectronics, tactile internet, materials science, data intensive and digital sciences, circular economy and societal change.
TUD has about 30,000 students enrolled, of which about 18 percent come from abroad. Today, TU Dresden has about 8,500 employees from 89 countries.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company TSMC
TSMC pioneered the pure foundry business model when it was founded in 1987 and has since become the world’s leading pure semiconductor foundry. The company supports a thriving ecosystem of global customers and partners with industry-leading process technologies and a portfolio of design enablement solutions to enable innovation for the global semiconductor industry. With global operations in Asia, Europe and North America, TSMC is a dedicated corporate citizen around the world.
TSMC employs 288 different process technologies and manufactured 12,698 products for 532 customers in 2022 by offering a wide range of advanced and specialty technologies. The company is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
– – – –
Further links
👉 www.tu-dresden.de
👉 www.tsmc.com
Photo: TU Dresden
