Cooperation Agreement: TU Dresden and GlobalFoundries plan joint innovation hub

GlobalFoundries Dresden (GF) and Dresden University of Technology (TUD) intensify their long-standing close cooperation. On October 20, 2023 Dr. Manfred Horstmann, Managing Director of GlobalFoundries Dresden and TUD Rector Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement to establish a GF Innovation Hub. The common goal is to sustainably expand innovation, knowledge transfer and the welcoming culture and thus make the high-tech location Silicon Saxony even more competitive.

Both partners will benefit from a wealth of positive experience. There have already been successful collaborations with TUD's own 5G Lab and NamLab. GF also works intensively with TUD spin-offs such as Racyics, now Europe's leading design service company. GlobalFoundries constantly employs around 50 TUD working students, maintains its own PhD funding program and annually supports the Summer School "Dresden Microelectronics Academy"and numerous other TUD programs as well as endowing a number of German scholarships at TUD each year.

"We are delighted that this agreement with GlobalFoundries takes our collaboration another step forward in our joint efforts," says TUD Rector Prof. Ursula Staudinger. "It is an important step into the future, because microelectronics and semiconductor technology are at the heart of countless innovations in many areas of life. The close collaboration between research and industry is essential in this regard."

GlobalFoundries will contribute its extensive experience in chip manufacturing and process technology to the partnership. The cooperation with the third largest chip contract manufacturer in the world will open up new opportunities for TUD and provide a stronger link to the global high-tech industry. GlobalFoundries will gain new opportunities to develop targeted innovative technologies for future chip production.

The Cooperation Agreement that has now been concluded is initially valid for five years and serves as the basis for a long-term cooperation. It envisages bundling all current and planned measures in a GF Innovation Hub. These include, for example, joint activities in research and development projects, attracting talent, exchange programs for faculty, students and staff, promoting social dialog, and encouraging young talent for technical and scientific degree programs. TU Dresden and GlobalFoundries also intend to jointly promote Dresden as a business location throughout Germany and internationally.

Dr. Manfred Horstmann, Managing Director of GlobalFoundries Dresden, emphasized the importance of the strategic partnership: “We welcome the fact that with our current development plans in Germany the TU Dresden, as a European microelectronics lighthouse in our direct neighborhood, is already amicably connected with us. For many years, we have not only been linked by regional partnerships with TU Dresden, but there have also been important collaborative R&D projects on an intercontinental level with industry-shaping influence. Intensifying this approach by establishing active capstones and unique programs is our common goal.”

Media inquiries:
Press Office
TUD Dresden University of Technology
Tel.: +49 351 463-32398

Jens Drews
Director Corporate Communications
GlobalFoundries Dresden
Tel.: +49 351 277-1010
  

Dresden University of Technology (TUD), as a University of Excellence, is one of the leading and most dynamic research institutions in the country. With around 8,300 members of staff and more than 30,000 students, it is one of Europe’s largest research and teaching institutions in the natural sciences and engineering. Founded in 1828, it has grown to become a globally oriented, regionally anchored top university that aims to make innovative contributions to solving global challenges. In research and academic programs, the university unites the natural and engineering sciences with the humanities, social sciences and medicine. This wide range of disciplines is an outstanding feature that facilitates interdisciplinarity and transfer of science to society.

GF is a U.S. semiconductor manufacturer that performs contract manufacturing. The company was founded in 2009 as a spin-off of AMD's semiconductor manufacturing operations and operates fabrication facilities on three continents - in Dresden, in Singapore, as well as in New York and Vermont in the USA. GF in Dresden is the largest contract manufacturer in Europe with about 3,000 employees from about 50 nations, 52,000 m² of clean room space and a capacity of about 850,000 wafers (300mm) per year. For more information, visit www.gf.com.