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From Luisa Zenker
When Indian Anurima Mallick was eleven years old, she wondered how her cell phone actually worked. Her father, an engineer, then explained to her in detail what goes on inside a smartphone, the 24-year-old recalls. It was the first time she was confronted with the word chip and transistors. Perhaps that was one of the decisive steps that later led the Master's student to become a chip designer and now talks excitedly in English among the books in Dresden's Central Library: "TSMC was my dream." TSMC was my dream.
The nanoelectronics engineer is one of 30 students from Saxony selected to fly to Taiwan at the end of February. At the expense of the state government. The new program is unique: the Saxon Ministry of Science invests 500,000 euros per year in the stay abroad. On Monday, Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow (CDU) and Rector Ursula Staudinger will see the first students off to Taiwan.
As part of the so-called "Semiconductor Talent Incubation Program", one hundred students from all Saxon universities will be able to take part every year. The only requirement: a passion for science.
"TSMC is exciting, a huge company."
Anurima knows that she has held her own against around 124 students. She is one of nine women, and one of the few from abroad. In return, she now receives 700 euros a month to train with the Taiwanese chip giant. And, it is hoped, to transfer her knowledge to the new plant, which will open in the state capital in 2027 with billions in funding.
Anurima is not averse to this; she previously worked in India for the chip manufacturer DXCORR worked. She has held semiconductors labeled "Made in Taiwan" in her hands several times. "I want to make a career," she says enthusiastically. She has heard about the harsh working conditions at TSMC, but she is already used to them in India: "We had to give up a lot."
Jannis Kaliske sits next to the Indian and shares her enthusiasm: "TSMC is exciting, a huge company. Technologically, they are at the top of the world." The 24-year-old is flying to Taiwan on February 28. As an industrial engineer, he makes it clear that the plant not only needs chip experts, but also logistics specialists. He has already gained two years of experience at Infineon and learned a lot about global supply chains. Whether it will later be TSMC, Globalfoundries or Infineon will be open. The Saxon Semiconductor Industry Association forecasts an increase of almost 20,000 jobs by 2030.
"That is an incredible value. A Silicon Valley is being created here that can compete with Silicon Valley in America." The world market leader for microchips is building the first European factory in Dresden, the investment sum for the joint venture with Infineon, Bosch and NXP 10 billion euros, half of which are subsidies from the German government.
Conflict over Taiwan also concerns students
The fact that he has to fly out into the world to do this is not a problem for him. Jannis took part in exchange programs to Colombia, Canada and South Korea as a schoolboy and later did an internship in Singapore. But Jannis Kaliske knows that Taiwan is a different story. Because the island state is under threat of invasion by China. The leadership in Beijing regards Taiwan, with its 23 million inhabitants, as part of the People's Republic. The clear goal: to annex the democratically governed island to Chinese territory - by military means if necessary.
"There's no denying that there is danger," says the student. But should anything happen, they will be flown back immediately, at least that's what course coordinator Josef Goldberger says. For Jannis, however, the joy outweighs the worry; in addition to learning modules on semiconductor technology, he also wants to learn Chinese.
Max Paulenz can do this reasonably fluently. Born in Dresden, he recently returned from Taiwan and his partner is from the island. The electrical engineer first heard about TSMC when he was doing his A-levels during the coronavirus pandemic and numerous electrical products were unavailable due to supply bottlenecks. He then developed a real passion for semiconductors during his studies.
"I hope that Dresden can actually become a Europe-wide player as a result and that the whole thing will also have a certain effect on regions such as Lusatia, which is very close to my heart," says the 22-year-old. The three students are well aware that there are also challenges associated with the Chipan settlement, such as a sufficient water supply. "I don't know the facts, but I think it's definitely feasible if you really work hand in hand with politics and business," the future chip generation hopes.
