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Vision

Facilitate the long-term growth and innovation of the U.S. microelectronics industry through investment in our most important asset - our talent

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Mission

Holistically strengthen the talent pipeline through attracting, training, recruitment & retention strategies

Objective

Stimulate collaboration between universities and industry to address workforce development needs for successful U.S. semiconductor manufacturing

The ASA - SEMI Partnership

The American Semiconductor Academy Initiative is partnering with SEMI to build a comprehensive workforce development program designed to close the microelectronics industry's widening talent gap and maintain U.S. economic competitiveness and national security. The partnership draws on the strengths of both and bolsters workforce education and training programs nationwide, targeting job skills, academic degrees and continuing education to grow and diversify the talent pool for the industry, while accelerating scientific innovation and technology commercialization.

The initiative aims to connect over 200 universities and community colleges to the more than 1,500 SEMI member companies with U.S. operations. In addition to modernizing and revitalizing a comprehensive curriculum that spans multiple disciplines and credential levels, these institutions and organizations will be collaborating to provide hands-on training and apprenticeships, uniquely critical to the microelectronics industry, to students, as well as prototyping services to speed the translation of new innovations to the marketplace.

A cornerstone of the ASA and SEMI partnership is a commitment to foster equity and inclusion and to enrich the diversity of the talent pool by including minority-serving institutions and community colleges nationwide, sharing resources and best practices, and offering hands-on learning, research experiences, and internship opportunities for their students and trainees.

Our Objectives:

  • Create excitement for semiconductor-related fields and awareness of career opportunities
  • Develop knowledgeable & skilled graduates, from technicians to Ph.D.s, through partnering educational institutions across the U.S.
  • Align courses and competencies with present and future industry needs
  • Develop a diverse talent pipeline from K-12 to re-skill-up-skill
  • Broadly engage, enable, and empower STEM faculty
  • R&D partnerships to enhance technology transfer

Read the Press Release

SEMI ASA Partnership graphic

 

“The ASA planning team is excited to partner with SEMI to address the tremendous workforce development needs of the U.S. semiconductor industry and the new microelectronics ecosystem, which spans all STEM disciplines and education levels from trade school to graduate school across the country. The holistic workforce development programs of SEMI and the SEMI Foundation perfectly complement the rigorous degree-oriented education programs offered by universities and colleges, to well prepare students for rewarding careers in the semiconductor industry.”
Tsu-Jae King Liu
Dean, College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

ASA-SEMI Workshops

ASA along with SEMI hosted two workshop sessions in March 2022 to collect inputs from the university and industry representatives for the purpose of shaping a position paper/proposal for the ASA-SEMI nationwide education and training network.

The ASA workshop planning committee consists of Sandy Chapin, John Dallesasse, Steve Goodnick, Melissa Grupen-Shemansky, Quanxi Jia, Shari Liss, Tsu-Jae Liu, Mark Lundstrom, Sanjay Malhotra, Akanksha Singh, Michael Spencer, Kang Wang, Michelle Williams-Vaden, and David Zubia.

Workshop Highlights

SEMI ASA Workshop Highlights

 

Locations of U.S. Fabs & Universities with Semiconductor Curriculum (partial)

map of universities and fabs

 

About the American Semiconductor Academy

The American Semiconductor Academy is proposed to create a semiconductor education & training network of universities and colleges, geographically distributed across the U.S., to:
  • Increase and broaden access to education and training leading to technical careers in the semiconductor industry, filling the pipeline of talent for U.S. semiconductor companies
  • Facilitate the commercialization of innovations that originate in university research labs,  ensuring that leading-edge chip products will always be manufactured first in the U.S.
  • Partner with industry to provide tech apprenticeship and internships for hands-on training and work experience
  • Distribute funding and conduct annual evaluations & assessments
  • Coordinate curriculum development and hands-on training programs
  • Support the semiconductor industry, NSTC, NAPMP, and NNMRD - programs authorized by the CHIPS for America Act

Executive Committee of the ASA Planning Team:

  • Prof. Tsu-Jae King Liu (Chair), University of California, Berkeley
  • Prof. John Dallesasse, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Prof. Stephen Goodnick, Arizona State University
  • Prof. Quanxi Jia, State University of New York at Buffalo
  • Prof. Mark Lundstrom, Purdue University
  • Prof. Kang Wang, University of California, Los Angeles

Read more in the ASA White Paper

About the SEMI Foundation

The SEMI Foundation is a non-profit, public benefit arm of SEMI, the broadest tech-focused, global industry association in the world.  

SEMI represents the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, connecting over 2,400 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide. Through its programs, communities, initiatives, market research, and advocacy, SEMI informs and coordinates its members and the industry, cultivates collaboration, drives action, and synchronizes innovation to speed business results. Regional and technology communities are connected in pre-competitive forums for global collective action. 

The SEMI Foundation supports workforce development in the semiconductor industry. Our charge is to dramatically expand the pipeline of talented workers ready to fill the significant workforce deficits reported by companies worldwide. We are leveraging this critical need for new and more workers as an opportunity to diversify the talent pool, benefitting both the workers and their communities, as well as the companies who hire them. 

Learn more about the SEMI Foundation

This webpage is currently under development with expected updates.  Last updated August 9, 2022.