The Semiconductor Industry Association, along with Myongji University's Industrial Technology College, is launching a specialized track program for semiconductor equipment.

The Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) announced that Myongji University, Korea Polytechnic University, Inha University, and Daerim University will be the first domestic universities to launch a 'Semiconductor Equipment Specialization Track Program.'

All four universities will begin offering this program starting this fall semester. A "major track" refers to a specialized educational system within a department's curriculum. The "Semiconductor Equipment Major Track" is a more specialized program within the semiconductor equipment field, allowing new college graduates hired by semiconductor equipment companies to immediately enter the workforce without additional training.

On the 24th, the Semiconductor Association held a launch ceremony for the Semiconductor Equipment Specialized Track Program at the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association building in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, with the attendance of Park Ki-young, Director General of the Materials and Components Industry Policy Department of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Jeong Jae-hoon, President of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology; Lee Jong-myeong, Vice President of Myongji University; Lee Jae-hak, Dean of the Graduate School of Sanggi University; Choi Soon-ja, President of Inha University; Hwang Un-kwang, President of Daerim University; and Park Gyeong-su, CEO of PSK. Park Kyung-soo, CEO of PSK, attended as the chairman of the equipment division of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association and as a representative of a semiconductor equipment company.

To establish a new semiconductor equipment major track at universities, the Semiconductor Association conducted a survey and in-depth interviews with the semiconductor equipment industry in April. The goal was to understand the industry's needs and research and analyze the curriculum needed to cultivate semiconductor equipment professionals. The industry's voices, gathered through this survey, were summarized as follows: 1) fostering a customized workforce immediately applicable to the field by specializing in semiconductor equipment; and 2) fostering talent with convergent and interdisciplinary knowledge, considering the industry's multidisciplinary nature.

Based on the common needs of the semiconductor equipment industry, the association began developing a curriculum and teaching materials together with external experts, including professors and teaching materials development committee members from Myongji University, Sanggi University, Inha University, and Daerim University who expressed their interest in participating in the semiconductor equipment specialized track course. As a result, we developed a semiconductor equipment specialized track program with the following main tracks: ▲ Mechanical Design Analysis ▲ Plasma Process ▲ Software ▲ Equipment Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul.

Starting this fall semester, Myongji University, Korea University of Science and Technology, Inha University, and Daerim University will operate a semiconductor equipment major track program by combining departments related to the semiconductor equipment industry. △Myongji University's Department of Electronic, Mechanical, Industrial, New Materials, and Information and Communication Engineering; △Korea University of Science and Technology's Department of Mechatronics and Nano-Optical Engineering; △Inha University's Department of Electronic, Mechanical, Chemical, New Materials, and Information and Communication Engineering; and △Daerim University's Department of Mechatronics. These programs aim to cultivate talents with convergent and interdisciplinary knowledge.

Nam Ki-man, executive vice president of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, said, “The first batch of about 100 undergraduate students who completed the semiconductor equipment major track will graduate in 2018. We plan to expand the number of participating universities so that more than 500 semiconductor equipment professionals can be produced within the next five years.” He added, “Through customized human resource development, we will expand the technological prowess and supply capacity of domestic semiconductor equipment companies, further supporting the demand from domestic large corporations and further strengthening export competitiveness. Equipment competitiveness will become the new weapon for our semiconductors that has created a significant gap.”