"This award is very good news for the Brainport region and for us as TU/e," says president of the Executive Board Robert-Jan Smits enthusiastically. "We have been advocating for a TU/e scale jump for years because of the ever-growing demand for technical talent in the region. It is fantastic that we can now take such a big step."
Smits: "That such a significant part of these funds is coming to TU/e underlines the importance of our university to the high-tech industry here, especially to semicon. It is now up to us to deliver in order to significantly and structurally increase the availability of highly educated top talent for the semicon sector. I am confident that we will succeed in this."
It is now up to us to deliver in order to structurally and significantly increase the availability of highly educated top talent for the semicon sector. President of the Executive Board Robert-Jan Smits
Future Chips
"Our plans are based on ambitious, realistic growth scenarios, with guarantees that we also had in our earlier plans for a scale jump," adds Rector Silvia Lenaerts, who is ultimately responsible for TU/e’s Future Chips flagship. "Specifically, we get the funding upfront; the growth must not come at the expense of excellence. Growth must be gradual and facilities such as labs and student housing must be provided. All this is in the plans."
The Beethoven funds will allow us to strengthen our position as one of Europe’s leading semicon universities.
Rector Silvia Lenaerts
"It fits seamlessly with all’of the other recent developments: the collaboration with ASML , the cooperation with KU Leuven and IMEC , the Eindhoven Semicon Summer School , the collaborations with South Korea and Taiwan , and the new pilot line for photonics. This strengthens our position as one of Europe’s leading semicon universities."
Master’s students
The aim of the Beethoven talent plans is to make more talent available for the semicon sector as soon as possible. And that sector requires master’s graduates. For this reason, TU/e is opting for growth in master’s programs, explains Paul Koenraad, dean of TU/e’s Graduate School who is co-responsible for master’s education. "If we were to opt for growth in the bachelor’s programs, the increase in the number of master’s graduates would only begin in more than five years, which would be far too long. We are therefore going to attract students who already have a bachelor’s degree to come to us to do a two-year master’s program and then be able to enter the job market immediately afterwards."targeted growth
The growth in student numbers will only take place in the departments most relevant to semicon: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics and Science Eduction, and Mathematics & Computer Science. Koenraad: "We will eventually have almost 2,000 extra master’s students. Of our total student population, that’s a 15% growth, but the percentage growth is much higher within the relevant fields. So, a lot of work needs to be done there. We will do that gradually, of course, so that the growth is manageable."In addition, TU/e will set up 15 new master’s tracks that are relevant to the microchip sector in the coming years. The aim of this is for an even better match with the labor market. The choice for the new tracks was therefore made in close consultation with industry. This will not only attract more students but also ensure a higher stay rate due to the strong connection with the semicon sector.
Student recruitment
The main way in which TU/e will achieve a higher number of master’s students is, of course, the recruitment of additional students. As there is no surplus in terms of Dutch bachelor’s students in the relevant areas, TU/e will mainly seek the extra students abroad, Koenraad explains. "We will do this together with the other universities involved in Beethoven - Delft, Twente and Groningen - so that we are stronger and do not compete with each other. In anticipation of The Hague’s allocation decision, we have already deployed extra people to student recruitment because we want to achieve a slight growth as early as next year."
We have already deployed extra people to student recruitment because we want to achieve a slight growth as early as next year.
Paul Koenraad, dean Graduate School
A further increase in the number of master’s students can be achieved by increasing the flow from our own bachelor’s to master’s programs, Koenraad explains. "There is still profit to be made, especially in regard to international bachelor’s students as they choose a different master’s program relatively often. Among other things, we will therefore do more to promote master’s programs to our own bachelor’s students."
Additional staff
Growing student numbers also means hiring the necessary extra staff. TU/e’s guiding principle remains that education is given by researchers to ensure the indispensable connection between science and education."These are relatively high numbers of new staff," Koenraad explains. "The master’s phase has a lot of teaching in small groups and intensive graduation supervision. To ensure this high quality of our teaching, we need one extra academic staff member for every 13 extra students."
"And for every academic staff member, one additional support staff member is needed, such as technicians or teaching assistants. So, you can imagine that many new colleagues are going to be recruited in the coming years. We want to choose them in a way that optimally connects and strengthens all’of our semicon activities."
Cooperation
An important aspect of the joint talent plan submitted by Brainport is closer mutual cooperation. Fontys and TU/e will ensure that students can move on more easily from HBO to university and vice versa. "And, with Fontys, we are also looking at a partially shared first year for semicon-relevant programs," says Ines Lopez Arteaga, dean of the Bachelor College. "This will give students the chance to experience both types of program and to switch more easily. We hope to retain more students for the semicon sector with these measures."Furthermore, the educational institutions involved will also conduct joint recruitment and promotional activities. This is aimed at raising awareness in the Brainport region and at recruiting groups that are generally less likely to choose technical studies.
Life long development
TU/e will also participate in the Brainport Academy, which will bring together all LLO (leven lang ontwikkelen, lifelong development) activities of the educational institutions involved. Lopez Arteaga: "We aim to provide a home base for our alumni where they have opportunities throughout their careers to continuously develop their knowledge, including in the field of semiconductors."TU/e’s offering will focus on upskilling and retraining alumni and lateral entrants within the semiconductor industry - some 60 students a year. Incidentally, the allocation of funds from The Hague for this specific element is yet to take place.
Better connection
A better connection between secondary and higher education is also under consideration. Lopez Arteaga: "TU/e has therefore taken the initiative to set up the Education Network South Netherlands. This should help improve connections between secondary education and higher education, provide better information and support to students, parents and teachers, and promote educational research and subject matter deepening for teachers."Additional academic staff and additional master’s students automatically means that more research will be done. "That fits perfectly with the research ambition that we have within the Future Chips flagship," says professor Bart Smolders, who is the ambassador of the flagship.
"For example, there is the major research collaboration with ASML, within which some 80 PhD students will be trained. The extra master’s students from the Beethoven program will soon be able to do research in the new cleanroom that TU/e is going to build. These are all’initiatives that reinforce each other."
Eighty PhD students within the research collaboration with ASML and additional master’s students doing research in the new cleanroom: all’initiatives that reinforce each other.
Professor Bart Smolders
Lab building and cleanroom
With so many extra students and staff there, don’t we need extra buildings’ "Yes, indeed," confirms Patrick Groothuis, vice-president of the Executive Board. "We’ve not been sitting still. We have elaborate plans, not only for a new and bigger cleanroom building but also for a new lab building specifically for semicon."
We have elaborate plans, not only for a new and bigger cleanroom building but also for a new lab building specifically for semicon.
Vice-president Patrick Groothuis
"We want to realize that lab building at the junction of Het Eeuwsel and De Zaale. The building will house many of the labs within Future Chips under one roof, maximizing cross-fertilization between the various areas, from high-tech systems to photonics. And, of course, there will be teaching rooms for the many extra students. It will therefore be a substantial building, with dimensions just one size smaller than the Flux building."
"Now that the first funds have been allocated, we can initiate decision-making around this building because we desperately need it. And these new facilities and labs are certainly also going to help attract new scientists and students." Preparation and designs will start in 2025 and the start of the construction of the lab building is aimed for 2027, with the construction start of the cleanroom scheduled for 2026. To accommodate growth until then, the Real Estate service, in collaboration with the departments, is deploying a shifting program to create additional space in the existing buildings as early as 2025.
