The semiconductor industry is facing a talent shortage as the proportion of university students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields has been declining, a report by the Legislative Yuan said.
Subjects in STEM fields include life science, environmental science, physical chemistry, earth science, mathematics, information and communication technology, engineering, manufacturing and processing, as well as building and construction engineering, the Ministry of Education said.
The proportion of STEM students in colleges and universities, as well as STEM graduates in recent years are far lower than those in 1991, the report prepared by the legislature’s Budget Center said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The number of doctoral, master’s and undergraduate students studying in STEM fields dropped by 17.15 percent from 2012 to 2021, and the number of graduates fell by 21.31 percent from 2011 to 2020, the report said.
The number of doctoral students in STEM fields declined by 26.34 percent from 2012 to 2021 and the number of doctorate holders reduced by 23.63 percent from 2011 to 2020, it said.
The proportion of doctoral, master’s and undergraduate students in STEM fields among total students from 2012 to 2021 dropped by 8.9, 1.51 and 1.77 percentage points respectively from 2011 to 2020, it said.
In response to the talent shortage in STEM fields, the ministry has designated semiconductor, artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, circular economy and finance sectors as “national key fields,” it said.
The ministry approved 10 research institutes in these fields set up by nine universities as of the end of July last year, it said.
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, National Cheng Kung University, National Tsing Hua University and National Taiwan University have established semiconductor research institutes, it said.
National Sun Yat-sen University has established semiconductor and finance research institutes; National Taiwan University of Science and Technology has established artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing research institutes; National Chung Hsing University has established a circular economy research institute; and National Taipei University of Technology has established an artificial intelligence research institute, it added.
As these institutes are in preliminary stages, the effectiveness remains to be seen, it said.
Talent shortages in the semiconductor industry have been expanding, it said, citing white papers on talent in the semiconductor industry released by 104 Job Bank.
Research and development engineers are the most important roles businesses that are undergoing transformation seek to fill, it said.
However, a lack of students and graduates, especially at the doctorate level, in the STEM fields could exacerbate the shortages, it added.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS