Taiwan-India ink academia-industry partnership on semiconductor-linked research

Taiwan and India have inked an academia-industry partnership that is meant to foster collaboration on semiconductor-related research, announced the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center(TECC), Chennai. The MoU in this regard was inked between Chennai Institute of Technology (CIT), Tamil Nadu, National Formosa University (NFU), Taiwan, and Air Gas Electronic Materials Enterprise Co., Ltd.(AGEM), Taiwan. As per estimates, Taiwan accounts for almost 60% of global semiconductor production and more than 90% of the world's most advanced chips. The island's tech ecosystem dominates the foundry sector, with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) serving as the primary supplier for global tech giants like Apple, Nvidia, and AMD. India has been making efforts to foray into the semiconductor value chain.

Under the tripartite agreement, doctoral candidates will receive joint academic supervision from CIT and NFU, along with industrial mentorship and research support from AGEM. The program will promote advanced research, international mobility, and industry–academia engagement, preparing students as globally competitive researchers.The initiative is expected to enhance research capacity, facilitate knowledge exchange, and foster sustained cooperation amongacademic, industrial, and research institutions in India and Taiwan.

The signing ceremony in Chennai was attended and witnessed by Mr. Stephen Hsu, Director General, Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Chennai; Dr. Lung-Jieh Yang, Director, Science and Technology Division, TECC in New Delhi ; Dr. Shou-Yin Yang, Vice President for International Affairs, NFU; Mr. DesuNaveen Kumar Reddy of AGEM; and senior officials from CIT. Speaking at the event, DG Stephen Hsu emphasized that this MoU is the first academia- Industry collaboration on semiconductor research between Taiwan and Southern India. He referred to students as “Ambassadors of Innovation,” stressing their role in strengthening India–Taiwan ties.

Taiwanese firm AGEM, which is a crucial pillar of this collaborative effort, possesses strong expertise in advanced gas purification technology, which plays a critical role in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Semiconductor fabrication processes, particularly etching(subtraction) and deposition(addition), require ultra-high purity (UHP) gases with impurity levels controlled down to parts-per-billion (ppb) or even parts-per-trillion (ppt) levels.

Even the smallest quantities of contamination from moisture, oxygen, hydrocarbons, or metallic impurities can significantly affect wafer yield, device performance, and process stability. AGEM’s strength lies in developing and operating sophisticated purification systems capable of producing semiconductor-grade specialty gases that meet the stringent quality standards demanded by leading semiconductor fabs.