Vietnam universities scramble to offer courses in semiconductor technology, design

This year the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, the Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology, Da Nang University of Science and Technology, Can Tho University, Saigon International University, Hanoi-based Phenikaa University, and FPT University are taking in students for IC design and microelectronics courses for the first time.

The Hanoi University of Science and Technology has announced the setting up of the semiconductor microchip technology department.

The Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology is calling for applications to IC design courses and offering scholarships covering 50-100% of fees.

Last year three member universities of the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City – the University of Technology, the University of Information Technology, and the University of Natural Sciences – had gotten approvals to set up IC design and semiconductor technology departments.

They believe this year is the right time to create those departments to serve the job market and align with Vietnam's semiconductor development policies.

Over 50 microchip companies are operating in Vietnam, including Intel, Marvel, Synopsys, Ampe Computing of the U.S., Japan’s Renesas, and Taiwan’s BridgeTek and Faraday.

According to Vietnam's National Science and Technology Information Portal, Vietnam had around 5,000 engineers working in IC design as of 2022, mainly in Ho Chi Minh City (74%), Hanoi (10%) and Da Nang (8%).

The number meets only 20% of the demand, and Vietnam needs an additional 50,000 highly skilled engineers by 2030.

The Vietnam Microchip Community reports that the average after-tax salary for a chip design engineer in their first year is nearly VND220 million (US$9,000) a year and will steadily increase over time.

Professionals with five years of experience can earn over VND330 million per year, and up to VND1.3 billion with 15-20 years of experience.