Chang Gung University has teamed up with four major computer memory companies to train outstanding talents to address the issue of talent shortage in the semiconductor memory industry.

College of Engineering

There are 300,000 people working in Taiwan's semiconductor industry with an annual growth rate of more than 10%. In view of the diversification of 5G, AI computing, electric vehicles, and electronic products applications, Taiwan's computer memory industry in the next few years will continue to invest more than one trillion NT dollars to expand the production capacity to meet long-term consumer demand. Considering the labor shortage in Taiwan's semiconductor industry, the talent shortage in the computer memory industry is even more urgent. In order to solve the talent shortage in enterprises, Chang Gung University and four computer memory companies, including Nanya Technology, Macronix, Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology (ESMT), and Etron Technology, have established an industry-university cooperation platform for talent cultivation. The platform aims to integrate university resources and top industry technology to cultivate high-level professionals.

In the history of semiconductor development, both the United States and Japan also used the industry-university cooperation method.  Adopting the very large scale integration (VLSI) program to conduct joint research and development, Japan in the 1980s defeat the United States.  To compete against Japan, the United States then formed a semiconductor manufacturing technology alliance (SEMATECH). In view of this, the College of Engineering of Chang Gung University signed a production collaboration contract with four major computer memory manufacturers (Macronix, Nanya Technology, ESMT, Etron technology) on January 12.  The College of Engineering also established a professional master's degree program of computer memory in order to cultivate talents for Taiwan's computer memory industry. The contract was signed by Professor Ming-Je Tang, president of Chang Gung University, Dr. Chih-Yuan Lu, general manager of Macronix, Dr. Lin-Ching Su, executive vice president of Nanya Technology, Mr. Ming-Jian Zhang, general manager of ESMT, and Mr. Elvis Deng, president of Etron Technology. These enterprises provide scholarships and allow students to tap into the industry during the period of their studies and solve the practical problems of the industry through an internship. This approach could help students to achieve the goal of starting work right after graduation.

Professor Chao-Sung Lai, dean of the College of Engineering of Chang Gung University, pointed out that Taiwan is a global leader in the semiconductor industry and has a strong competitive advantage. To meet the future market demand, accelerating the experience pass-on and talent cultivation is one of the primary goals of the country and universities. Chang Gung University's professional computer memory program requires students to study in university for one year and complete an internship in enterprise for another year. The curriculum design is based on theoretical learning in the undergraduate studies (Department of Electronic Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Information Engineering, etc.), jointly planned by experts in various fields of enterprises and university professors.  Courses include "memory chip design" and "memory chip production".  Students are expected to develop the core skills required for the computer memory industry. In addition, the Chang Gung University’s Professional Master’s Degree Program of Computer Memory provides 41 lucrative scholarships, and each postgraduate student enrolled in the degree program from various departments of engineering can receive approximately NTD$800,000 of scholarships (including internship subsidies) and post-graduation employment opportunities. In the first year, with the summer credit program, students can receive a maximum amount of NTD$300,000 after completing the relevant professional courses of the program. By fulfilling the program requirements and completing the thesis during the enterprise internship in the second year, students can receive at least NTD$40,000 (including internship subsidies) every month.

Associate Professor I-Chyn Wey, director of the computer memory program of Chang Gung University, said that the first computer memory program in Taiwan, with its experimental nature, has indeed played a significant role.  We are quite excited by the number of students’ registration and participation in this program. However, this is only the first step in the process of cultivating talents, using talents, attracting talents, gathering talents, and retaining talents. By continuously strengthening the professional knowledge and research ability of these students, we can create more outstanding talents for the semiconductor industry, one of the Taiwan's key development areas, and stabilize Taiwan's position as the Silicon Valley in Asia.

Chang Gung University signed a collaboration contract with Macronix, Nanya Technology, ESMT, and Etron Technology to jointly cultivate the next generation of high-level research and development talents for computer memory.