SEMI, the global industry association advancing the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, and the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) today announced their intention to collaborate on a plan for the India Semiconductor Academy (ISA), with the objective of establishing it as a national, industry-led platform for semiconductor education, skills and employment.
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Shri. Ashwini Vaishnaw (Union Min for Electronics & IT), Mr. Arun Kumar (Chair, IDTA & Celesta Capital Managing Partner) Shari Liss, Vice President, Global Workforce Development & Initiatives, SEMI
The proposed Academy will strengthen India’s training and workforce-development objectives as India expands investment across semiconductor design, fabrication, advanced packaging and testing, equipment, and materials. Its focus will be on converting India’s broad engineering and technical talent base into practical, industry-ready capability for priority roles across the semiconductor value chain.
The proposed Academy will partner with a number of industry participants and academic institutions to achieve its objectives, including Cadence, CG Semi, Dixon Technologies, Micron Technology, Synopsys, 3D Glass Solutions, the University of California San Diego and IIT Kanpur.
The collaboration will draw on SEMI’s global experience convening semiconductor employers and building industry-led workforce initiatives worldwide. The partners expect to adapt relevant lessons to India’s institutional landscape, industrial priorities and employment needs.
A roadmap from planning to establishment
In the planning phase, SEMI and IDTA will engage industry, universities, technical institutions, training centers and laboratories to define the Academy’s governance, operating model, curriculum priorities, funding framework and phased implementation. The plan is expected to address:
an annually refreshed national forecast of semiconductor skills demand by role, capability and location;
industry-validated occupational standards and stackable credentials for priority jobs in design, fabrication, assembly, testing, marking and packaging, and equipment operations;
access to shared laboratories, tools and simulation environments;
apprenticeships, on-the-job training and employment-linked pathways; and
annual reporting on proficiency, placement, retention and employer satisfaction.
The Academy is intended to serve the full semiconductor talent pyramid: from fab-ready technicians and operators to manufacturing, packaging and design engineers, advanced researchers and materials scientists, and system and solution architects. It will place particular emphasis on hands-on capability in process and equipment operations, facilities, maintenance, packaging, testing, quality and safety, alongside India’s established strength in semiconductor design.
The initiative will also complement Pax Silica, through which India, the United States and other trusted partners are pursuing greater resilience, security and innovation across semiconductor and artificial-intelligence supply chains. A deeper pool of skilled talent in India can strengthen both India’s domestic ecosystem and trusted international technology partnerships.
Quotations:
S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY
“India’s semiconductor strategy must be built not only on capital and infrastructure, but also on people. The proposed India Semiconductor Academy can strengthen the training objectives of the India Semiconductor Mission by aligning education and skilling with the real requirements of industry, and by creating pathways from learning to productive employment.”
Ajit Manocha, President and Chief Executive Officer, SEMI
“SEMI is pleased to bring its global industry network and its experience with workforce-development initiatives to this collaboration. India has an important opportunity to connect educators, employers and learners through industry-defined competencies and hands-on training that can support semiconductor growth at scale.”
Arun Kumar, Chair, Executive Committee Chair, India Deep Tech Alliance and Managing Partner, Celesta Capital
“Talent is the longest lead-time input in semiconductor development. The Academy will help India translate its formidable technical potential into fab-ready and industry-ready capability. It will also reinforce the trusted technology partnerships envisaged by Pax Silica by expanding the skilled workforce available to India and thus its partners across the semiconductor value chain.”
April Arnzen, EVP and Chief People Officer, Micron Technology
“Micron is pleased to support the India Semiconductor Academy and its vision to strengthen India’s semiconductor talent pipeline. Building a workforce ready for the demands of a rapidly growing semiconductor industry requires close collaboration among industry, academia, and government. Initiatives like ISA create valuable opportunities for industry to help inform workforce competencies, share insights on evolving talent needs, and support the development of educational pathways that prepare students for high-impact semiconductor careers.”
Dr Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor, University of California San Diego
“India’s semiconductor opportunity is ultimately a talent opportunity. The India Semiconductor Academy can help build the industry-ready workforce that will enable India to move from ambition to leadership across the semiconductor value chain. UC San Diego is pleased to partner with SEMI and IDTA as a founding participant on this important national platform and is proud to contribute its expertise in engineering, advanced computing, research and workforce development to this important national effort, while strengthening the trusted technology partnerships between India and the United States.”
Jayashankar Narayanankutty, Group Director – Sales, Cadence
“Cadence is pleased to support the India Semiconductor Academy and its vision to build an industry-ready workforce for India’s expanding semiconductor ecosystem. As the industry evolves under ISM 2.0 beyond traditional design services toward IP creation, product ownership, and manufacturing, scaling specialized talent across the entire value chain requires close alignment between industry, academia, and government. Initiatives like ISA provide a crucial framework to translate academic potential into practical capabilities aligned with real-world design and manufacturing demands. We look forward to collaborating with SEMI and IDTA to help nurture the next generation of engineers and support India’s transition into a global semiconductor innovation hub.”
LW Yong, Head of Operations, CG Semi
“Building India’s semiconductor ecosystem will require us to build the talent ecosystem alongside it. We are already seeing the intensity of the talent challenge, but we have also been impressed by the hunger and willingness of Indian engineers and technicians to learn and take on this industry. With the right infrastructure and training, we believe India can build the deep talent pool needed to support a globally competitive semiconductor ecosystem.”
Atul Lall, Managing Director & Vice Chairman, Dixon Technologies
“India’s engineering potential is immense, but scaling our semiconductor and electronics ecosystem requires converting that potential into specialized, industry-ready capabilities. Through the India Semiconductor Academy (ISA), we have a unique opportunity to align education directly with real-world manufacturing demands. Dixon Technologies with its long experience in electronics manufacturing is proud to support this initiative, creating clear, employment-linked pathways for young professionals and driving India’s vision of self-reliance in advanced electronics and semiconductor manufacturing.”
Sudeep Shivalli, Regional Senior Director – GTM, Synopsys
“India stands at a pivotal moment in its semiconductor journey. As the nation expands its semiconductor capabilities across chip design, manufacturing, packaging, and system innovation, the demand for highly skilled talent has never been greater. Future engineers must be equipped to navigate the growing complexity of AI-enabled chip design, multi-die architectures, advanced packaging, hardware-software co-design, verification, and system-level optimization. The SEMI and IDTA is launching India Semiconductor Academy which can serve as a critical bridge between academia and industry, helping develop talent that is ready for real-world semiconductor challenges. Synopsys being a global leader in silicon to systems engineering solutions, is proud to support this vision to empower India’s next generation of innovators and strengthen the country’s position as a trusted global semiconductor partner.”
Surendra Babu Mandava, Chief Executive Officer, 3D Glass Solutions Inc.
“For companies like ours building fabs on the ground in India, manpower is the single most critical variable for success, as critical as capital or equipment. We need process engineers who can run and troubleshoot fab tools, technicians trained specifically to operate and maintain that equipment, skilled teams who can build and manage fab infrastructure itself, and increasingly, AI and software talent to enable intelligent, data-driven manufacturing. The Academy can help ensure that talent pipeline is ready in parallel with our facilities, not years behind them.”
Yogesh S Chauhan, Professor & Head, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur
“India has a vast pool of engineering and technical talent. The opportunity before us is to translate that talent into specialised, industry-ready capability across semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. By bringing industry, academia and government together, the India Semiconductor Academy can help bridge this gap and create employment-linked pathways for India’s young workforce. We are proud to support this collaborative effort.”
Next steps
The two organizations will constitute a joint working process and consult partners from industry and academia. The resulting plan will set out the institutional design and the commitments required for establishment, including public support, industry contributions in cash and in kind, access to facilities and expertise, and sustainable program revenues over time.
About collaborating organizations
SEMI
SEMI® is the global industry association connecting over 4,000 companies and 1.5 million professionals worldwide across the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. We accelerate member collaboration on solutions to top industry challenges through Advocacy, Workforce Development, Sustainability, Supply Chain Management and other programs. Our SEMICON® expositions and events, technology communities, standards and market intelligence help advance our members’ business growth and innovations in design, devices, equipment, materials, services and software, enabling smarter, faster, more secure electronics.
Visit www.semi.org, contact a regional office, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and X to learn more.
India Deep Tech Alliance
The India Deep Tech Alliance is an industry-led consortium of investors, corporates, technology partners, and ecosystem stakeholders focused on accelerating India’s deep tech companies across AI, semiconductors, advanced computing, robotics, biotech, and more. IDTA convenes capital access, technical mentorship, market linkages, and policy engagement to help founders build globally competitive technology companies from India.
Learn more at idtalliance.org.
