Pohang City Promotes Semiconductor Workforce Training and Develops New Power Semiconductor Industry

POSTECH Opens Department of Semiconductor Engineering to Train Experts in Semiconductor Field

Mayor Lee Kang-deok: "Strengthening Cooperation with Local Universities to Drive New Industry Growth"

Pohang City has officially launched the Department of Semiconductor Engineering at POSTECH, which offers specialized education programs in the semiconductor field.

On the 15th, the opening ceremony of POSTECH Department of Semiconductor Engineering was held on the first floor of C5 Building at POSTECH.

At the opening ceremony of the POSTECH Department of Semiconductor Engineering held on the first floor of POSTECH C5 Building on the 15th, attendees included Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang, Baek In-gyu, Chairman of the City Council, Kim Sung-geun, President of POSTECH, as well as representatives from POSTECH, Pohang City, Gyeongbuk Province, and Samsung Electronics.

POSTECH established the Department of Semiconductor Engineering last year with support from Samsung Electronics and selected 40 undergraduate freshmen for the 2023 academic year. Starting from the second semester of 2023, graduate students are also being recruited.

Undergraduate students in the POSTECH Department of Semiconductor Engineering are all selected through the comprehensive student record screening in the early admission process. Freshmen for the 2024 academic year will undergo interview evaluations in November, with final successful candidates announced in December.

The POSTECH Department of Semiconductor Engineering operates the nation’s only 3+3 integrated bachelor’s-master’s-doctoral intensive education system. To support this, it has secured over 20 semiconductor expert faculty members and offers a differentiated curriculum covering all areas of semiconductors, including semiconductor devices and materials, processes, and circuit design. Special programs are also being prepared to nurture semiconductor leaders in collaboration with domestic and international technology experts.

Students admitted to the Department of Semiconductor Engineering receive top-tier scholarships and opportunities for domestic and international training. They also undergo practical talent education utilizing state-of-the-art semiconductor educational facilities and equipment, such as the country’s largest cleanroom and measurement practice labs.

Kim Sung-geun, President of POSTECH, stated, “The POSTECH Department of Semiconductor Engineering, equipped with world-class human and material semiconductor infrastructure, is expected to be an opportunity to lead POSTECH’s new leap forward.” He added, “We will continue to communicate and cooperate with the local community to strengthen the national semiconductor ecosystem and contribute to regional development.”

Pohang City is conducting a development project for an 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) wafer-based multi-sensor SoC (System on Chip) platform in collaboration with the POSTECH Nano Convergence Technology Institute. Additionally, it is promoting the introduction of core process equipment to support the entire process of power semiconductors based on wide bandgap materials, selected through a public competition by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy last year, fostering the new power semiconductor industry.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok said, “The opening of the POSTECH Department of Semiconductor Engineering will play an important role in the development of POSTECH and Pohang City.” He added, “Pohang City will lead regional innovation through win-win development by cooperating with POSTECH to promote not only the rapidly growing and high-demand power semiconductor industry in the 4th industrial era but also secondary batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and the establishment of a research-oriented medical school.”