STUST, which has been actively improving students' employment competitiveness, continues to strengthen industry-university cooperation, hoping to provide students with more practical employment opportunities. STUST’s interns registered with TSMC on the 11th of July. The Department of Semiconductor and Optoelectronic Engineering (formerly the Department of Optoelectronic Engineering), STUST, wished all the interns a great internship.

【STUST continues to strengthen industry-university cooperation and actively improve students' employment competitiveness as STUST makes its first step towards high-tech industry.】

In recent years, STUST has made unremitting efforts to strengthen the integration of industries and narrow the gap between learning and application. Among them, the promotion effect of the Department of Semiconductor and Optoelectronic Engineering has been particularly recognized by the industry. The number of interns in the department in 2022 was 25, and the number of interns in 2023 increased to 34. The number of interns in hi-tech factories accounted for 37% of the total number of students. Enterprise internships for students are mainly distributed in the four major fields, namely, wafer manufacturing, semiconductor equipment, semiconductor packaging and testing, and optoelectronic semiconductors. The student enterprise internship is arranged in regular class hours, with a monthly salary in 2022 about 27,750 -39,000 NTD. After graduation, they will stay in the same workplace following their internship. At present, there are already cooperative manufacturers offering a salary of up to 52,000 NTD.

Currently, Taiwan is leading the world in terms of market share in the industry of wafer foundry and packaging and testing. Therefore, the demand for talents in the semiconductor-related industries is much greater that it was before. The number of interns at TSMC and UMC in the Department of Semiconductor and Optoelectronic Engineering, STUST, has increased from 11 in 2022 to 14 in 2023. After the students finished their internships in the semiconductor and related industries, 9 students were retained or pre-employed by the company (retention rate 60%) achieving the goal of being employed upon graduation.

The Department of Semiconductor and Optoelectronic Engineering, STUST, developed from the "Optoelectronic Semiconductor Group" of the Department of Electrical Engineering and became independent in August 1994 to establish the Department of Optoelectronic Engineering and Research Institute. Approved by the Ministry of Education, it was renamed the Department of Semiconductor and Optoelectronic Engineering in August 2023. It has established a semiconductor center and related optoelectronic processing laboratories. The investment exceeds 100 million New Taiwan dollars. STUST is the first university of science and technology to have opened a semiconductor professional laboratory, providing basic training for students to connect to the workplace. Most of the graduates of this department work as a process engineer or an equipment engineer in Tainan Science Park for Nanmao, ASE Semiconductor, Epistar, Innolux, Everlight Electronics, Lianya Optoelectronics, and Taiwan Applied Materials, etc. Therefore, studying in the Department of Semiconductor and Optoelectronic Engineering, STUST, is equivalent to obtaining a ticket to the semiconductor industry.

Prof. Rui-ching Tu, Director of the Department of Semiconductor and Optoelectronic Engineering said that all the teachers in the department have practical experience in the science and technology industry in the park as their curriculum design is also close to the needs of the industry. In recent years, the department has actively sought cooperation with the industry. Through equipment donations (e.g. Nanmao Technology donated packaging process machines in June 2022) and collaborative teaching with teachers from the industry, students can accumulate more professional knowledge and cultivate motivation to invest in high-tech industries, thereby shortening the gap between learning and learning.