Germany to send students to Taiwan following TSMC fab plan in Dresden

Taipei, Sept. 19 (CNA) The first group of students from the German State of Saxony will come to Taiwan next spring to receive semiconductor related training, according to an agreement inked on Tuesday, weeks after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) announced a plan to build a new fab in Dresden.

The arrival of German students from Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) and other institutions in Saxony beginning next year will "bring to life the trilateral agreement between TSMC, Saxony and TU Dresden," the university's president, Ursula Staudinger, told an event in Taipei.

Staudinger is a member of a visiting delegation from Saxony which inaugurated the "Saxon Science Liaison Office" in Taipei on Tuesday morning and signed the trilateral agreement at TSMC's plant in Taichung later the same day.

Under the agreement, around 50 German students will be selected for a six-month talent incubation program in Taiwan on a yearly basis, Staudinger said.

Participating students will spend the first three months at a Taiwanese university, such as the National Taiwan University, for courses on semiconductors, and the rest at TSMC for an internship to "get hands-on experiences," she said.

The goal of the program, Staudinger added, is to attract more and more German students to the field of semiconductors and facilitate research cooperation between German universities and TSMC's R&D department.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Lora Ho (何麗梅), TSMC senior vice president of human resources, said by working with engineers on site, students selected for the program will gain "a deeper understanding" of the semiconductor manufacturing process and the operations of TSMC wafer fabs.

According to Ho, it is hoped that ultimately 100 German students specializing in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics will be sent to Taiwan for the program each year.

The state government of Saxony will provide financial support for students selected for the program, Ho said.

The partnership with the state government and TU Dresden comes six weeks after TSMC announced it plans to build a 12-inch wafer fab in Dresden, the capital of Saxony, to make 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$10.7 billion), consisting of an equity injection, borrowing, and support from the EU and German governments, TSMC said at the time.

The company added that it aims to begin construction of the plant in the second half of 2024 and to start production by the end of 2027.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the "Saxon Science Liaison Office," Sebastian Gemkow, minister of science, culture and tourism in the state of Saxony, said the office would be "a very important hub" for the execution of the program.

The office, located at the German Trade Office (GTO) Taipei, which represents the business interest of Germany in Taiwan, will be headed by Josef Goldberger, who was previously in charge of the Taiwan office of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).