11 New Institutes Established to Produce IC Talents

China imports over 300 billion microchips each year. Since 2020, Chinese companies have been excluded from purchasing high-end chips under Biden’s “semiconductor war” and other sanctions. Under orders of the NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission), a number of China’s top universities are establishing new infrastructure with the hope reducing China’s reliance of microchip imports. Much of the new infrastructure helps integrate approaches between universities and industries.

By July 2021, 11 universities had established new IC institutes. These universities include Peking University, Fudan University (where China’s IC State Lab is located), Huazhong University of Science & Technology, South Eastern University and the University of Electronic and Science Technology of China. It is estimated that China needs 740,000 talents by 2022 in IC design, IC manufacturing and IC testing. Huawei, CMIC and Yangtze Memory have signed campus recruiting agreements with these universities.