First Winter Academy on semiconductors is in February. The aim is to make it an annual week.
TU/e, ASML, ASM, the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, the Korea Institute For Advancement of Technology and Brainport Development signed a Support Letter this afternoon aimed at setting up a Winter Academy in the field of semiconductors (semicon), organised by TU/e. The signing took place at ASML in Veldhoven during a visit by South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol and King Willem-Alexander.
It was preceded by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between South Korea and the Netherlands for the exchange of talent and knowledge in the semiconductor sector. The MoU was signed by Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen and Korean Minister Dukgeun Ahn, both foreign trade ministers. South Korea is one of the world's leading countries in microchip production.
Cooperation starts in Brainport
The subsequent signing of the Support Letter was the first step towards a concrete implementation of the MoU. With this, the parties involved laid down that the pilot for the cooperation will take place in Brainport Eindhoven, by means of a Winter Academy in February. The partners also want to start working on a structural programme for talent development in the field of semiconductors.
"The Brainport region is the ideal location for this, with its strong semicon companies and TU/e's strong position in the field of semicon, with high-tech systems and photonics," says Robert-Jan Smits, TU/e's CvB chairman. "Semiconductors are increasingly important for our world. The EU, the US, China, as well as South Korea and the Netherlands, are all betting heavily on semicon. One of the key prerequisites for this is training talent, especially highly skilled engineers. We are going to make an important contribution to that, with our cooperation with South Korea and the new Winter Academy."
Winter Academy
Taking place during the week of 19 February, the Winter Academy will feature a world-class programme targeting top talent from South Korea and the Netherlands, in one of the most relevant semicon ecosystems in the world. It is organised by TU/e's High Tech Systems Center, in collaboration with partners such as ASML, ASM, IMEC and NXP. The aim is to make the Winter Academy an annual week. Earlier this year, TU/e already organised a similar Summer School in the field of semiconductors together with partners from Taiwan and from the Brainport region.
