TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Kyushu University in April, marking its first collaboration with a Japanese university since confirming its factory establishment in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, in 2021, according to a report on Sunday (March 31).
TSMC plans to establish a lecture series at Kyushu University and collaborate on cutting-edge technology research to foster talent and research in the semiconductor field, the Yomiuri Shimbun wrote.
While dispatching TSMC's research and development staff to guide the university students, the school will select students to intern at the company's factories in Taiwan.
The collaboration is part of a broader effort to address a projected shortage of 1,000 technical talents in Kyushu's semiconductor industry over the next decade, as estimated by a group of industry, government, and academic representatives in Japan last year.
In addition to TSMC's Kumamoto Fab 1, which opened in February and is expected to start mass production by the end of 2024, the company also plans to start constructing the second plant in Kumamoto this year.
The report suggests that TSMC must collaborate with Kyushu University to ensure a sufficient talent pool for the future.