National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) has always positioned itself to be the hub of partnerships and platforms to forge new connections in the semiconductor industry, NCKU President Jenny Su said on Tuesday (Aug. 23).

The southern Taiwan university’s Academy of Innovative Semiconductor and Sustainable Manufacturing (AISSM) signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Purdue University’s College of Engineering on Tuesday evening, pledging to further enhance the collaboration of academic exchange, R&D, and talent development in semiconductors, and sustainable manufacturing.

Su told Taiwan News that this momentous occasion is “necessary background work” before a formal memorandum of understanding is inked. She said that this LOI will pave the way for cooperation between other Taiwan and U.S. universities in the field of semiconductors.

“Through our efforts, we can invite or recruit other universities in Taiwan to join” in industry collaboration.

The university president said NCKU plays a large role in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry and estimated that one out of four employees in the engineering and R&D sectors between 2016-2021 are all alumni.

This shows how critical we are in terms of the human capital factor of Taiwan’s semiconductor development, she said.

Su pointed out that NCKU’s programs “are probably as diversified as anyone can come up with or design.” The other three or four Taiwanese schools that are partaking in semiconductor R&D have only chosen a few specific areas of the industry to focus on, while NCKU is dedicated to every sector of the industry, she said.

“In terms of diversity and how we connect with different streams or tiers of this whole supply chain ecosystem, we are quite full-fledged.”

To foster such a large talent pool, the university has well-designed programs, such as the successful 3+1+1 graduate programs in electrical engineering, information engineering, and aeronautics, according to Su. The programs, which have been ongoing for a few years, are cooperative bachelor’s and master’s degree programs that allow students to earn a specified bachelor’s from NCKU and a specified non-thesis master’s from Purdue by completing three years of coursework at NCKU and two years of coursework at Purdue.

Su said these programs have “definitely” increased exchanges between the two schools and give top-tier students an opportunity to be better connected with the world. These programs have very robust curriculums and help graduates stay close to the forefront of new industries.

As for future plans with Purdue, the university president said NCKU is looking to increase other areas of cooperation other than science and technology, including academic partnerships in nursing, linguistics, and Taiwan studies.

She revealed that the university will send a delegation to Purdue in a few days to meet with newly-appointed university president Dr. Mung Chiang (??) and to announce the first-ever dual degree program in the semiconductor education graduate programs between Taiwan and the U.S.

The group will also sign multiple agreements during their trip, she added.

The AISSM, which was established in October 2021, is based in Tainan and the Southern Taiwan Science Park. It is the first university-based academy for semiconductor manufacturing with intensive industry collaboration programs in Taiwan that is committed to talent development for semiconductor manufacturing, according to an NCKU press release.

The academy has five technical degree programs, including Chip Design, Semiconductor Manufacturing, Assembling and Test, Critical Materials, and Intelligence & Sustainable Manufacturing, per the press release.

NCKU and Purdue have a close cooperative partnership that began in 1952 when the Indiana-based university began a financial and technical assistance program with NCKU, then called Tainan Provincial College of Engineering.

By: DocMemory
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