Free State of Saxony and Dresden University of Technology open scientific liaison office in Taiwan and sign cooperation agreement for a "Semiconductor Talent Incubation Program" with TSMC

Saxony's Minister of Science, Sebastian Gemkow, and the President of the Dresden University of Technology (TUD), Prof. Dr. Ursula Staudinger, opened a scientific coordination office in Taiwan this morning.  The office is located in the German Trade Office at the German Chamber of Commerce in Taipei and will be headed by Dr. Josef Goldberger. He will be the central contact person for the Saxon science community and for prospective students in Taiwan. TU Dresden will operate the office for all Saxon universities. The project is financed by the Free State of Saxony.

In the afternoon, 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.

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 spend six months abroad in Taiwan completing 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. TSMC engineers will teach the students first-hand, the basic concepts of the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Students will earn a total of fifteen credits by participating in the six-month exchange program.

Minister for Science Sebastian Gemkow: "The program offers a great opportunity for all those who want to gain a foothold in the semiconductor industry. We need tailor-made curricula in academic education that are oriented geared towards the needs of industry, especially in the field of microelectronics. Everyone benefits from this unique cooperation... the universities, the industrial partner TSMC and also our home regions of Saxony and Taiwan. We are organizing a genuine exchange of skilled workers on the basis of university cooperation. I hope 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 an integrated stay abroad in Taiwan, will give engineering a further boost and help attract more young people to this field 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 pleased to launch this exchange program with the Free State of Saxony and TUD, which will foster the next generation of semiconductor talent and support 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 supporting 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 around 2,000 direct high-tech jobs by the end of 2027.

The Saxon Ministry for Science is supporting these activities with several million euros. (500,000 euros per year to finance the stay abroad of guest students in Taiwan as part of the Talent Incubation Program and around one million euros for the operation and project costs of the liaison office).

Information on the partners:

TUD Dresden University of Technology
TUD Dresden University of Technology is one of the largest technical universities in Germany and one of eleven universities of excellence. With 17 faculties in five Schools, it offers a wide range of 119 degree programs and covers a broad spectrum of research with particular focus on the fields of life sciences, quantum materials, microelectronics, tactile internet, materials science, data intensive and digital sciences, circular economy and social change.
Around 30,000 students are enrolled at the TUD, about 18 percent of whom come from abroad. Today, around 8,500 employees from 89 countries work at the TU Dresden.
Website: https://tu-dresden.de/

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, specialty and advanced packaging technologies. The company is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Website: https://www.tsmc.com

Contact:
The Saxon Ministry for Science
Falk Lange, Press Officer
Phone  +49 351 564-60200