What do semiconductor talents want? “I got my PhD from Grenoble Institute of Technology - France, worked for 5 years at a center called the Silicon Valley of Europe - Minatec, then returned to work at Hanoi National University. In 2009, I contacted Synopsys Company directly to get support for some microchip design tools for my school. We determined that we must first try to create a good environment for studying and researching, then we can have more good professors, lecturers and students come to work together. The first thing that talents need is the environment, first we must create a good environment for talents”, Mr. Tran Xuan Tu, Director of the Institute of Information Technology - Hanoi National University emphasized at the Roundtable Discussion with the topic "Training international standard semiconductor human resources for the Vietnamese and world markets" organized by Phenikaa University in Hanoi.

Roundtable discussion with the topic "Training international standard semiconductor human resources for the Vietnamese and world markets" organized by Phenikaa University in Hanoi, with the participation of many domestic and international experts (Photo: Phenikaa).

“We cooperate with foreign companies and some FDI companies such as Renesas, Toshiba, etc., to conduct research projects to generate funding for the laboratories. Then we use the fund to provide scholarships for students. Every year, we have about 30 or 40 students studying in the IC design laboratory. Most of the students go abroad to work with IC design companies or work in FDI IC design companies in Vietnam. Many graduates work for Dolphin or Intel, Schwatztech, etc. Notably, two students have become professors in Japan and France in the field of IC design,” Mr. Tu shared one of his experiences in training and nurturing semiconductor talents at Hanoi National University. Having spent about 20 years on the Board of Directors of Mediatek - the world's number one microchip design company with many products for mobile technology, Mr. Ming-Je Tang, President of Chang Gung University (Taiwan - China) noted: The semiconductor industry in general is a heavy industry, requiring a lot of investment capital. Microchip design is a light industry, not requiring much capital but requiring a lot of talent. To attract high-quality talent, we must provide them with many incentives. "The best incentive is stocks. Normally, in Taiwan (China), microchip design companies will share 20% of total profits with employees to encourage employee attraction; instead of giving cash, they will give stocks based on the value each employee brings. I think that is the "key" to opening the "door" to attract high-quality talent to join the semiconductor industry in Taiwan," Mr. Ming-Je Tang cited the experience that Vietnam can refer to. In 2022, the number of microchip design engineers in Taiwan will be around 50,000 - 53,000, but the total revenue from products and services of microchip design companies will reach 40 billion USD. A dream number for many countries in the world. Training institutions need to link up with businesses soon. "With 20 years of experience in microchip design and similar things in Vietnam, although the journey has had ups and downs, we have always received support from the Vietnamese government and from large corporations to attract talent. 20 years ago, I was one of the very few engineering students doing a microchip design thesis at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. But now, people really know more about microchips and understand the importance of microchips. Hopefully we will have more human resources in this field," said Mr. Harry Trinh, General Director of Qorvo Vietnam. Operating in the analog and digital signal industry, Qorvo Vietnam does not only do the design phase in manufacturing but also the entire chain to create and sell products. From the current 110 people, Qorvo Vietnam plans to grow its team in Vietnam by about 30 to 35 percent this year. “This is not easy. We can upgrade the skills of the existing staff, but the semiconductor industry needs many different positions, some of which require longer training. So we really need to cooperate a little earlier with the university to provide students with a vision of the right approach. Training institutions and businesses need to link up early. We can shorten the learning path,” Trinh suggested. “We are working closely with the University of Engineering and Technology - Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Hanoi University of Industry to develop training programs, because in fact what we do is almost a comprehensive standard for IC design. We can share knowledge and experience with universities, together train human resources and provide value to the global supply chain,” said the General Director of Qorvo Vietnam, confident about the feasible and highly effective development cooperation direction.

Vietnam is seriously considering the issue of developing human resources for the semiconductor industry (Illustration photo. Source: Phenikaa).

Good news for semiconductor human resource training activities in Vietnam: Last February, the US Department of State's ITSI Foundation announced that, through Arizona State University (ASU), it would commit to supporting tens of millions of USD for developing countries, including Vietnam. "ITSI stands for International Technology, Security, and Innovation. This fund is a key initiative under the CHIPS Act signed by President Biden in 2022. The fund's goal is to diversify the global semiconductor supply chain, enhance security, and promote innovation. The US State Department - Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs has awarded ASU a $13.8 million cooperative agreement to support partner countries to strengthen and expand the semiconductor industry. The ITSI fund involves strategic cooperation with six partner countries in the Americas and the Pacific region, with Vietnam as the focus of the project. We have a portfolio of undergraduate and graduate training programs in semiconductors, including microelectronics, semiconductor manufacturing and processing. We are planning to use those resources to share with partners," said Mr. Thai Tran, Program Accreditation and Quality Assurance Manager, Vietnam Country Office ASU provides specific information. In order to establish a network to promote semiconductor human resource training, ASU plans to organize a kick-off event in each partner country; along with technical capacity building workshops, and build an online course platform to enhance the capacity of educators and professionals with skills suitable for the semiconductor industry. Vietnam's ambition From an "outsider's" perspective, Mr. Robert Li, Vice President of Synopsys, highly appreciated that Vietnam is seriously considering the issue of developing human resources for the semiconductor industry. "Everyone sees the opportunity. But to seize the opportunity, capital, talent, and government policies are needed. These are "three in one" to make everything come true. The government needs to have policies to accompany businesses. At the same time, training institutions also need to be prepared," said the Vice President of Synopsys. According to Mr. Nguyen Thien Nghia, Deputy Director in charge of the Department of Information Technology and Communications Industry - Ministry of Information and Communications, the main highlight in the Strategy for Development of Vietnam's Semiconductor Industry to 2030, vision 2035 is to create an ecosystem that promotes innovation and productivity. "We are trying to establish an ecosystem with training facilities, research institutes, universities with pilot lines and many sample projects, to be able to contribute to IC design services as well as packaging and testing activities. Those are quite ambitious goals," said Mr. Nghia. Discussing Vietnam's desire to do everything from IC design to packaging, testing and possibly manufacturing in the near future, President of Chang Gung University recommended: "The ecosystem plays an important role. You need IC design, you need foundries, you need to find products... It's a very long value chain. It may take Vietnam 20 years to build the value chain. So be patient." "When people design integrated circuits (ICs), there is a joke that ICs are India and China. As for very large-scale integrated circuits (VLICs), I think now we should change this phrase to Vietnam, India and China," Mr. Ming-Je Tang happily inspired optimism about the development of Vietnam's semiconductor industry.

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