FPT Invests About $3 Million in Photolithography Equipment
As Vietnam expands semiconductor training, FPT has invested about $3 million in photolithography equipment. Industry representatives say costly equipment hampers practical training and are calling for shared facilities. Vietnam aims to train at least 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030.
At a Vietnam–South Korea forum on semiconductor and AI workforce training held on November 12, FPT Polytechnic President Vũ Chí Thành said FPT had recently invested about $3 million in photolithography equipment. Previously, Vietnamese researchers had to travel to Singapore to use such equipment. Given its high cost, he said, workforce training needs supporting investment policies and a mechanism for sharing equipment.
An accompanying image related to semiconductor workforce training and investment in photolithography equipment in Vietnam.（VietVance）
The cost of practical training extends beyond photolithography. University representatives at the forum said individual chip testing and packaging machines cost from several billion to tens of billions of Vietnamese dong, making it difficult for universities to buy them on their own. Vietnam’s Department of Digital Technology and Artificial Intelligence said it would provide software through the National Center for Supporting Semiconductor Chip Pilot Production and support shared pilot production and measurement and testing facilities. Vietnam also plans to equip 19 universities with basic laboratories and establish three national shared laboratories.
Vietnam’s semiconductor industry development strategy and workforce development program call for the training of at least 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030. Phạm Thế Hùng, a representative of the higher education authorities, said the authorities had approved 63 semiconductor training programs: 28 bachelor’s programs, 23 engineering programs and 12 master’s programs. Annual enrollment is expected to exceed 5,000 students, reaching about 40,000 over six years.
Companies need semiconductor workers with experience, but a gap remains between university training and job requirements. Forum participants suggested placing students in company internships earlier and improving practical training through cooperation among universities, businesses and the government. Whether these proposals can be implemented still depends on establishing mechanisms for sharing equipment and funding.
Source: VietVance
