Thirty students from the German state of Saxony are to arive in Taiwan in March to receive training in semiconductor manufacturing, visiting Saxony Minister of Science, Culture and Tourism Sebastian Gemkow said in Taipei on Wednesday.
They would be the first group of students to travel to Taiwan under a talent incubation program developed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the Saxony state government and Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden), Gemkow said in an interview.
The trilateral partnership was established in September last year with the aim of cultivating a skilled workforce in the field of chip manufacturing in the German state, in the wake of TSMC’s announcement it would build a new fab in Dresden, the capital of Saxony.
Photo: Bloomberg
Gemkow said that the students would begin a series of online semiconductor courses next month.
In March, they are to travel to Taiwan, where they would carry on with their courses at local universities, such as National Taiwan University, and undergo training at TSMC’s plants for six months, said Gemkow, who arrived in Taipei on Tuesday for a three-day visit.
In the long run, more German students from TU Dresden and other universities in Saxony who are interested in semiconductors would travel to Taiwan, the official said, adding that the Saxon Science Liaison Office in Taiwan, inaugurated in September last year, has been working around the clock on this endeavor.
TSMC senior vice president of human resources Lora Ho (何麗梅) said the firms hopes that 100 German students specializing in science, technology, engineering or mathematics would be sent to Taiwan as part of the program each year.
In August last year, TSMC announced plans to build a 12-inch wafer fab in Dresden to produce automotive chips as part of a joint venture with Bosch, Infineon Technologies and NXP Semiconductors.
Total investment is expected to exceed 10 billion euros (US$10.9 billion), with the German government promising to provide 5 billion euros in subsidies.
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