Seven Kaohsiung high schools are offering courses in semiconductor and digital technologies with the aim to improve local industry and tentative plans to expand the program citywide if the pilot proves successful.
The program — offered in collaboration with National Sun Yat-sen University and the National University of Kaohsiung — aims to improve students’ understanding of critical technologies and help local firms recruit talent, the organizers said at the official launch of the program on Tuesday at Tsoying Senior High School.
The first semester has already begun at the seven schools in the city’s Zuoying (左營) and Nanzih (楠梓) districts, said Legislator Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳), who proposed the program.
This first group of 200 students is to attend a mixture of remote and in-person classes, along with visits to local businesses, Liu told the gathering via videoconference from the legislature in Taipei.
The students are to learn from university professors about semiconductor manufacturing, app creation, vacuum technology and more, the Kaohsiung Education Bureau said.
A flexible curriculum is to be adopted for the first year, after which more industry-specific coursework is to be developed, bureau Deputy Director Chen Pei-ju (陳佩汝) said.
Through the program, even students at regular schools have the opportunity to take vocational courses, Chen said.
If a student shows particular interest in a subject, they would have the chance to enter university through special enrollment, she said.
Tsoying Senior High principal Chang Chien Ling-chuan (張簡玲娟) shared her enthusiasm for the program, which she hopes would help students discover their individual aptitudes.
Later on, the program could also help the students find work in Kaohsiung, which she called the greatest wish of all parents.
Taiwan Export Processing Zone Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association chairman Chou Kuang-chun (周光春) said that local technology parks house 70 companies employing 60,000 people.
Many of them produce technologies critical to everyday gadgets such as the heat sensor in iPhones or polarized screens, making Kaohsiung an important link in the global supply chain, Chou said.
However, these businesses need to get ahead of the curve and offer quality jobs, as low salaries and competition are driving local talent to northern Taiwan, he said.
This is where the program comes in, offering students a chance to get excited about studying physics, optics, mechanics and other fields central to these jobs, Chou said.
After the event, Liu said that if the pilot is successful, she would approach Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) about expanding it to other high schools in the city.
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