Along with the development of information and communications technology, technical services have penetrated into social life worldwid, and the digitalization process has become indispensable in supporting life of human beings. On the other hand, stemming from the strong development of science and technology such as 5G/6G communication networks, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), self-driving cars, robots, smart city apps and digital transformation, the demand for semiconductor chips used for electronic devices is increasing. It can be said that semiconductor chips are an important foundation that supports digital society and strengthens all industries.

Investment in factories aims to attract more investment in chip manufacturing and high-tech product manufacturing in the Da Nang centralized IT park. Photo: TRIEU TUNG

The importance of semiconductor chips has also been shown through the COVID-19 pandemic, when chip factories were shut down, leading to a halt in production activities of all other industries from agricultural production to agriculture to consumer electronics and automobile manufacturing... The increased demand for remote working has also led to a shortage of supporting electronic devices, whose foundation is semiconductor chip.

Meanwhile, the younger generation increasingly tends to look for jobs in fields related to programming, machine learning, AI and big data processing due to high income, easy to find a job, and no large amount of investment required in studying facilities. Therefore, the number of people studying electronics is decreasing, which has led to a serious shortage of high-quality human resources in the semiconductor chip field globally.

Opportunity

Da Nang, which is an important gateway in Viet Nam's trade connection with other parts of the world, has a long coastline and clean sand, totally suitable for the production of silicon wafers, which are the core of semiconductor chip production.

Da Nang already has a hi-tech park, with many factories producing supporting electronic components for the semiconductor chip industry. In particular, there is the appearance of Da Nang Fujikin Co., Ltd., a company supplying valves to semiconductor chip manufacturing companies with the highest market share in the world.

With a regard to semiconductor chip design, Da Nang has had the appearance of many companies. According to statistics, the supply source for semiconductor chip design in Da Nang accounts for about 8% of the country's market.

On the other hand, higher education institutions in the city also have a tradition of training human resources for this industry such as the University of Science and Technology, a member school of the University of Da Nang, with a capacity of meeting the growing demand for a high-quality workforce. Currently, universities in the city also have specific plans and actions to build new training programmes to provide more and better quality engineers for the semiconductor chip industry.

In particular, Da Nang has a huge advantage which is the determination of the political system through practical activities to call for investment from large enterprises in the world in the semiconductor chip industry such as Intel, Synopsys and Marvell.

What does Da Nang need to do?

In an effort to attract more investment flows, Da Nang needs to have favourable policies to attract more FDI enterprises, especially, ones that not only simply produce but also establish research and development (R&D) centres. These R&D centres are not places that create much surplus value and take a long time to see results. Therefore, the city’s administration needs to have a policy to support taxes and rental fees for long periods of time so that companies can feel secure in investing in Da Nang.

These R&D centers will be a place for Vietnamese engineers to have the opportunity to participate more deeply in the design stages, better understand technology, come up with new ideas, and that is the basis for creating a team of local experts that can start their own businesses and create made-in-Viet Nam products once FDI companies withdraw capital out of the country. R&D centers will also be key partners with universities in research because of their different nature from manufacturing facilities, requiring short product production times and low prices.

Next, it is necessary to have statistical data forecasting human resource needs for the semiconductor chip industry and share it with educational institutions so that they can develop plans to recruit and train lecturers, investing in facilities, as well as establishing annual enrollment targets to ensure training quality and meet human resource needs.

Da Nang needs to have an investment policy for key universities, linked to local development policies to form a ‘regional semiconductor ecosystem’ with the participation of all parties: State - Enterprises - Supporting organisations - Universities.

In particular, it is necessary to pioneer the first city in Viet Nam to establish the city’s semiconductor association, combining with the IC community of Vietnamese engineers working in the field of semiconductor chip design to create playgrounds and useful activities, a place to exchange not only academically but also about other aspects of life, connecting people together through an official association.

The next necessary condition is a policy of prioritising and promoting research in the field of semiconductor ICs, especially in research and prototyping through ordering scientific and technological tasks for key universities and institutes.

Heed wshould be paid to supporting universities to organise seminars and conferences, inviting leading experts in the semiconductor chip industry to Da Nang for the delivery of speeches and inspirational talks. There should be a loan policy for students and learners who plan to study and work in the semiconductor chip industry.

In addition, it is necessary to promote STEM education, scientific knowledge and skills to high senior schools, strengthen communication so that society and students clearly understand the profession and human resource needs in the field of semiconductor chips, thereby creating a passion for science and technology, and orienting students in the career selection process.

Reporting by Dr. VO TUAN MINH - Translating by A.THU