Written by Anand Chauhan.
Image credit: Political Deputy Minister Dr. Mon-chi Lio and AICTE Chairman Prof. T.G. Sitharam, at the Indo-Taiwan Educational Cooperation Forum on Semiconductors by the Ministry of Education.
India’s semiconductor dream will not be built only by factories, subsidies, or foreign investment. It will be built by people. Behind every chip plant are engineers, technicians, researchers, designers, machine operators, supply-chain specialists, and managers who understand one of the most complicated industries in the modern world. This is where Taiwan becomes important for Indian students.
India has already taken a major step. Tata Electronics’ semiconductor fab in Dholera, Gujarat, with technology support from Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, is planned as India’s first commercial semiconductor fab. The project is worth more than ₹91,000 crore, has a planned capacity of 50,000 wafer starts per month, and is expected to create more than 20,000 direct and indirect skilled jobs. The Government of India has also committed 50% fiscal support for eligible project costs.
This is not just another industrial project. It signals India’s attempt to move from being mainly a consumer and designer of chips to becoming a serious manufacturing player in the global semiconductor supply chain. For decades, India has had strong software talent and a growing electronics market, but semiconductor manufacturing requires a different kind of ecosystem. It needs cleanrooms, materials expertise, equipment maintenance, process control, design capability, packaging, testing, and long-term industrial discipline. The Tata–PSMC project, therefore, should be seen not only as a factory project, but as a national talent challenge.
But this also raises a serious question: who will fill these skilled jobs? India cannot become a semiconductor power by importing machines alone. Semiconductor manufacturing requires trained human capital. That means India needs students who understand not only engineering theory, but also the discipline, precision, industrial culture, and global supply-chain logic behind chip production. Taiwan is one of the best places for Indian students to learn this. It is not just a country with semiconductor companies; it is an entire semiconductor ecosystem. Its universities, research labs, industry networks, and technical training culture are closely connected to the needs of the chip industry. For an Indian student, studying semiconductors in Taiwan is not simply a study-abroad opportunity. It is a chance to enter the world’s most strategic industry from inside one of its most important hubs.
Deloitte estimates that by 2030, the global semiconductor industry will need more than one million additional skilled workers, equal to more than 100,000 new workers annually. For India, this shortage is not a distant problem. If India wants to build fabs, ATMP units, design firms, and supply-chain capabilities, it must train people before the industry reaches full scale.
This is why Taiwan–India education cooperation matters. In November 2023, a 17-member Taiwanese Ministry of Education delegation visited India to promote semiconductor personnel training. At the Indo-Taiwan Educational Cooperation Forum on Semiconductors, Taiwanese and Indian institutions signed 50 memoranda of understanding, some of them aimed at joint degree programs in semiconductor-related fields. This shows that semiconductor education is no longer a side issue. It is becoming part of India–Taiwan strategic cooperation.
Taiwan’s value is not only in classroom instruction. Taiwan gives students exposure to a complete semiconductor environment. Its universities are located close to industry clusters, and many programs are designed with industry needs in mind. This matters because semiconductor learning is not only theoretical. Students need to understand precision, production culture, reliability, teamwork, lab discipline, and the pressure of working in a high-stakes technology sector. These are skills that cannot be fully learned from textbooks alone.
For Indian students, the benefits are clear. Taiwan offers exposure to semiconductor courses, laboratories, Mandarin learning, cross-cultural experience, and possible industry connections. A student trained in Taiwan can understand both the technical and cultural sides of semiconductor cooperation. This is important because future India–Taiwan semiconductor cooperation will need people who can work across languages, institutions, and business cultures.
From my personal view as an Indian student in Taiwan, this is one of the most practical but under-discussed areas of India–Taiwan cooperation. We often talk about trade, geopolitics, and technology partnerships at the government level, but students are often the real connectors between countries. An Indian student who studies in Taiwan, learns basic Mandarin, understands Taiwanese academic life, and gains exposure to semiconductor training can later work with Taiwanese firms, Indian companies, or joint industrial projects. That student becomes more than a degree holder—they become a bridge.
There are already concrete opportunities. National Taipei University of Technology’s 2026 MOFA New Southbound Elite Program includes India among eligible countries for its Semiconductor Track. The program runs from September 2026 to January 2027 and includes English-taught courses such as Electronic Materials, CMOS VLSI Design and Layout, and Fabrication Technology of Semiconductor Devices. It also includes Mandarin and cultural learning. The program lists 15 admitted students and provides a full tuition waiver, a flight subsidy of up to NTD 18,000, a monthly living allowance of NTD 10,000, and arranged accommodation.
Taiwan’s INTENSE Program is another important pathway. The Ministry of Education describes it as a program for international talent coming to Taiwan for study and employment after graduation. It focuses on STEM, finance, and semiconductors, combining government, university, and industry resources. It includes tuition support, company living allowances, paid internships, and a work obligation in Taiwan after graduation.
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University’s International College of Semiconductor Technology also states that its INTENSE Program targets applicants from countries including India. National Chung Hsing University has also announced INTENSE Program support in key industries, including STEM and semiconductors, with funding options covering tuition, airfare, living stipend, and internship allowance.
The Taiwan–India university connection is also expanding beyond scholarships. National Cheng Kung University has built semiconductor cooperation with Indian institutions such as IIT Madras and IIT Gandhinagar, focusing on faculty exchanges, student exchanges, short-term courses, and research collaboration. NCKU’s semiconductor summer school also offers English-taught tracks in areas such as IC design, semiconductor manufacturing, packaging, and testing. These short-term programs are especially useful because not every Indian student can immediately commit to a full degree in Taiwan. Some may first need exposure through summer schools, exchange programs, or short training modules.
This creates a genuine win-win situation. Indian students gain training in a high-demand global industry. Taiwan gains talented young professionals at a time when its high-tech sector needs international manpower. India gains future professionals who can support its semiconductor mission, whether they return to India, work with Taiwanese companies, or act as bridges between the two economies.
For India, the next step should be to build a structured semiconductor talent corridor with Taiwan. This should not depend only on individual students finding opportunities by chance. It should include annual scholarship quotas for Indian students, joint India–Taiwan semiconductor fellowships, short-term summer schools, internship pipelines with Taiwanese companies, and clear return pathways for students who want to work in India’s semiconductor sector. Indian state governments involved in semiconductor projects, especially Gujarat and Assam, should also build direct links with Taiwanese universities and training institutes. Without this kind of institutional planning, student mobility will remain scattered and limited.
There is also a cultural dimension that India should not ignore. Indian students going to Taiwan should not see Mandarin as optional or unimportant. Many semiconductor courses may be offered in English, but internships, workplace communication, daily life, and professional networking in Taiwan become much easier with Mandarin ability. Even basic Mandarin can make students more confident, employable, and adaptable. This is why programs that combine semiconductor training with Mandarin and cultural learning should be taken seriously. They prepare students not only for exams, but for real cooperation.
However, this opportunity should not be romanticised. These scholarships and training programs are limited and competitive. Most require a science or engineering background, English proficiency, and a serious commitment to technical learning. Some programs also require students to work in Taiwan after graduation. Indian students should not see these programs as easy foreign scholarships. They should see them as demanding career pathways. Before applying, students must carefully read the conditions, especially work obligations, eligibility requirements, and whether the program matches their academic background.
The bigger message is simple: India’s semiconductor future needs more than investment announcements. It needs trained people. Taiwan can help provide that training, but both sides must treat education as a strategic pillar of cooperation, not as a side activity. If India and Taiwan expand student exchanges, joint degrees, internships, scholarships, and university-industry partnerships, Indian students can become the missing human link in the semiconductor partnership.
Factories may manufacture chips, but people build ecosystems. For Indian students, Taiwan’s semiconductor classrooms can open a pathway into one of the world’s most strategic industries. For Taiwan, Indian students offer a young and skilled talent pool. For India, they can become the human capital needed to turn semiconductor policy into an industrial reality. That is the real win-win: Taiwan shares expertise, India builds capacity, and students become the bridge between ambition and execution.
Anand Chauhan is a doctoral student in International Politics at National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan, and a recipient of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs scholarship. His research focuses on international relations, public diplomacy, and cross-cultural engagement in Asia.
This article was published as part of the special issue on ‘More Than Chips: Education, Innovation and Strategic Ties between India and Taiwan’.