In 2016, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC, was scouting cities in the United States that might probably function the house of its $165 billion semiconductor manufacturing complicated.
Officials from the corporate toured a number of potential websites in the larger Phoenix space however didn’t discover a fascinating location. They wished, on the time, what Phoenix couldn’t give them: A science and technology park in which its staff may stroll throughout the road to its prospects and distributors.
So Phoenix set to work, and in 2019 was invited to make one other pitch in Taiwan. After presenting the main points of the park and discussing important components equivalent to energy, water, and so forth., town introduced in its nearer: Grace O’Sullivan, Arizona State University’s vice chairman, TSMC partnership initiatives.
O’Sullivan informed TSMC officers that it will have a ready-made workforce in the 30,000 engineering college students on the college.
The deal was struck.
“What Grace said really did turn the tide for us being able to bring in this large investment,” stated Christine Mackay, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.
Mackay made her remarks throughout the U.S.-Taiwan Technology Partnership Forum, held May 8 on the San Tan Ford Club inside Mountain America Stadium. The occasion introduced collectively ASU management, trade officers and metropolis leaders.
ASU President Michael Crow was the keynote speaker and famous that the U.S. has at 4 occasions in its historical past determined that sure areas of scientific and technological exercise could be owned by the federal government: exploration, agriculture, nuclear energy and, right now, digital.
Crow stated ASU is continually pondering of the way it will probably improve the partnerships between TSMC, which employs greater than 3,000 individuals at its Phoenix facility, and different American producers.
“How can we give service? What can we do? How can we help TSMC here in Arizona?” Crow stated. “How can we enhance the knowledge change, and change the people production chains that accelerate the research and development activity, accelerate the use outcomes and accelerate the social transformation issues associated with massive compute?”
Crow stated ASU can present a broader cultural schooling for TSMC and different Taiwanese corporations by internet hosting cultural occasions or educating communities on how the semiconductor trade is altering Arizona.
“I don’t have an exact answer for you other than it’s a very important thing that we need to work on, and it’s a very important thing that’s going to need some attention,” he stated.
Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, stated the occasion was well timed as a result of Taiwan has change into a main buying and selling partner with the U.S.
In 2025, Taiwan grew to become the fifth-largest merchandise buying and selling partner, with complete items reaching $256.1 billion. U.S. items imports from Taiwan surged to $201.4 billion, whereas U.S. exports to Taiwan had been $54.7 billion.
“It’s an absolute reflection of just how rapidly the relationship is growing,” Hammond-Chambers stated.
In the afternoon panel, titled “Higher Education Meeting the Needs of the Tech Industry,” Kyle Squires, dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, stated it’s important that ASU’s diploma packages are aware of semiconductor trade calls for.
“Universities produce graduates into a company, and then there’s a period of onboarding. It might be 90 days, it might be two weeks, it might be a year,” Squires stated.
“That onboarding is a signal to universities that while we are very good listeners and we’re producing very good graduates, there’s a mismatch between what the universities are producing and our company partners.
“What does that mean? Optics into company road maps … the more we know about (them), the better we’re going to be able to prepare students.”
Michael Troop, affiliate vice chairman for academic outreach and scholar providers, ASU Preparatory Academy, stated college students ought to have the chance to organize for semiconductor jobs earlier than they set foot on an ASU campus.
“A lot of jobs that are highly technical that are coming from Taiwan do not require four-year degrees,” Troop stated. “So, working all the way down to CTE (career and technical education) programs in high school is critically important because students can get a large head start and even begin to work before college or while they’re in college.”
Pearl Chang Esau, founder and proprietor of Shan Strategies, a Phoenix consulting agency that works on international partnerships, stated that for the U.S.-Taiwan technology partnership to flourish, Taiwanese residents who come to the U.S. to work should really feel appreciated.
“I really think the bigger factor for success is around culture, in our ability to welcome people that are different from ourselves,” Chang Esau stated. “That includes new cross-cultural settings down to the elementary schools where the children of the employees who are coming here to train attend school.
“That all matters. Taiwan is a small place. If you have a bunch of people going back and saying, ‘The Americans were unfriendly and the school children were mean,’ that’s not a good look.”
In that regard, Chang Esau stated, ASU already has stepped up, internet hosting a celebration of Double Ten Day, Taiwan’s nationwide vacation, on the West Valley campus.
“Those sorts of things really matter,” she stated. “So I don’t think we can over emphasize how important the university’s role is in creating the culture of welcome. It’s critical.”