This project is creating a model for integrated regional workforce development for students majoring in semiconductor technology at the A.A.S. and B.S. degree levels. The multifaceted project comprises curriculum and materials development, faculty development, and technical experiences for students. The goal is to educate more and better-prepared technologists to answer the persistent workforce needs of the region's semiconductor industry. The strategy the project is using is to consolidate in a single world-class facility known as the Teaching Factory the hands-on laboratory instruction for all semiconductor students from multiple campuses throughout the region. Located on the campus of Arizona State University East (ASUE), the Teaching Factory is a 15,000-square-foot teaching model of a semiconductor cleanroom. Intel, Motorola, Microchip, and Amkor Technology have donated a full complement of the major semiconductor process tools, and today the Teaching Factory is capable of producing fully functioning integrated microchips. Partners in the project include three community colleges (Central Arizona College, Chandler-Gilbert, and Mesa Community College); the NSF's Center of Excellence in Semiconductor Manufacturing, the Maricopa Advanced Technology Education Center; and Intel, Motorola, Inc., Microchip, and Atomika Instruments. In this regional model, A.A.S. and B.S. degree seeking students are continuing to learn semiconductor principles on their home campuses via distance and classroom delivery, but all students in the region travel to the Teaching Factory for practical lab instruction and practice.
