TSMC's success lies in opportunity-discerning ability: ASU professor

Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) succeeded because it was "flexible, adaptive, and knew where the opportunities were and exploited them," a U.S.-based professor said, noting that it has the same chance of succeeding in the United States as it did in Taiwan.

Meredith Woo, a professor of Arizona State University's (ASU) School of Politics and Global Studies and a scholar specializing in political economy and industrial policy, made the comments before she gave a talk in Taipei on Friday at the invitation of the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation, a public policy research-focused think tank based in Taiwan.

Before the closed-door talk, Woo told the local media in an interview that while there are differences between Taiwan and the U.S. in manufacturing, workplace culture, and work organization, "I don't actually worry about it very much," as long as the two parties work together to narrow the gap "with openness and willingness."

She said TSMC has made "a very calculated and smart move in relocating to Arizona," as the state of Arizona is a stronghold of the semiconductor industry and innovation in the U.S.

She added that the company is also in partnership with ASU that is "oftentimes considered the most innovative university in America."

"There are 33,000 engineering students at ASU," Woo stressed, adding that through the partnership the educational institution can help with manpower training via various diploma and certificate programs "that will meet the needs of an industry that is rapidly creating jobs in the state of Arizona."

"So in spite of the fact that talks about difficulties [of TSMC building fabs in Arizona] were sensationalized, I think there are wonderful things going on that is unheard of in terms of potential, scale, and resources devoted to it," she said.

"And Taiwan has so much to be proud of," Woo stressed.

Asked about the view that since TSMC succeeded because of Taiwanese people's "work ethic" in which "work-life balance" is believed to be less important, the company might not be as successful in the U.S. as it has been in Taiwan, Woo disagreed.

American workers are as "robust, hardworking, and dedicated," she said.

"I think TSMC succeeded because it was flexible, adaptive, and knew where the opportunities were and exploited those opportunities," she continued. "It is a brilliant organization."

In the interview, the challenge of Taiwan's low-birth rate and the consequent lack of students and manpower was also raised, and the professor gave her suggestions to the Taiwanese government that is now struggling to attract foreign students and talent.

Having spent her childhood in South Korea and being an expert in South Korea's industrial policy, Woo said both Taiwan and South Korea took a long time to democratize, and the two countries "imbibed the culture and ethos of inclusion" along the way and eventually they could become places that people want to build their lives.

But she said, "there is going to be no quick fix."

"You have to be a society that is accommodating, culturally inclusive, and compassionate about your foreign students, so that your foreign students can see for themselves a future in Taiwan," she added.

On the topic of how higher education should respond to the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and fast technology development, the professor said while some worry about the retreat of humanities, arts, and social sciences as disciplines, it is actually an "opportunity to reinvent education."

"What's important is to try to understand the shape of the time today... and use your imagination to figure out where the world is going and then create modes of inquiry that respond to it," Woo said.

There is a possibility for a new kind of humanities and social sciences that is "married to different disciplines like engineering and architecture," she continued.

Unless people in humanities engage in interdisciplinarity and have different ways of thinking and utilizing data, "they will be sticking to disciplines that are obsolete," the professor stressed.