Chung Yuan Christian University is actively investing in semiconductor talent cultivation and materials research. The university has announced a partnership with AEMC Co., Ltd. to establish the “AEMC Semiconductor Specialty Chemicals R&D Joint Laboratory,” creating a new model for industry-academia collaboration. Chung Yuan Christian University emphasizes that the future is not about “industry posing questions and universities solving them,” but rather “industry posing questions and universities and enterprises solving them together.” This laboratory also receives an annual donation of NT$1 million from an alumnus of the Department of Chemistry at Chung Yuan Christian University, currently residing in the United States, to support the long-term development of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry.
Chung Yuan Christian University noted that AEMC is one of the few companies in Taiwan that provides critical chemicals for semiconductors, dedicated to the research and manufacturing of specialty chemical materials for “semiconductor and display” applications. The R&D joint laboratory will be led by Professor Tsai Yu-Szu from the Department of Chemistry at Chung Yuan Christian University, along with resident engineers from AEMC on campus, guiding graduate and project students in their research work. They hope that some of the advanced research can progress more effectively within the university’s open atmosphere, with both professors and company researchers working together, cultivating research personnel who are ready for immediate application in the future.
In 2020, AEMC expanded its R&D base in Taoyuan and subsequently built semiconductor materials production bases in Tainan and the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Kaohsiung, playing a critical role in ensuring a complete and solid supply chain for Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. The collaboration with Chung Yuan Christian University is not only geographically advantageous but also reinforced by the fact that many of the company’s key researchers are graduates of Chung Yuan Christian University, affirming their confidence in the university’s education quality.
Chen Xian, an outstanding alumnus of the Department of Chemistry at Chung Yuan Christian University who has lived in California for many years, is a retired semiconductor engineer. Upon learning of this collaborative model, he expressed his strong approval and announced an annual donation of NT$1 million to support the joint laboratory.
To achieve the goal of creating a semiconductor talent bank, Chung Yuan Christian University has, in recent years, not only reviewed semiconductor-related courses and faculty but also invested resources in establishing the “Semiconductor Materials and Advanced Optics Research Center.” The university actively seeks collaboration with Taiwanese semiconductor companies, involving professors and industry professionals in jointly designing and teaching courses. This serves as a starting point for students’ internships in enterprises and aims to introduce innovative approaches in research, which led to the idea of establishing joint R&D laboratories with the industry. AEMC is the first company to collaborate in this initiative.
Kuo Kuang-Lang, General Manager of AEMC, stated that this approach is not just industry-academia collaboration but, more importantly, the cultivation of future scientists. This new talent cultivation model surpasses traditional industry-academia cooperation, and he hopes that one day Taiwan will have “Nobel Prize winners among office workers.” He mentioned that Koichi Tanaka, the 2002 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, exemplifies how dedicated research in a corporate setting can lead to significant scientific breakthroughs. Tanaka’s experience provides new inspiration for Taiwan’s high-tech industry.
Wu Tsung-Yuan, Dean of the College of Science at Chung Yuan Christian University, highlighted that “Materials Science” is one of the university’s research strengths. According to the 2022 Category Normalized Citation Impact (CNCI) rankings, Chung Yuan Christian University is third among comprehensive universities nationwide in the field of “Materials Science,” and first among private comprehensive universities. The university hopes to develop a distinctive semiconductor education model unique to Chung Yuan. The “AEMC Semiconductor Specialty Chemicals R&D Joint Laboratory” is just one part of this initiative, aiming to provide students with a novel teaching and learning experience that transforms university education.
