TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — National Taiwan University (NTU) has welcomed 30 foreign students to prepare for eventual jobs at a future Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) fab near the city of Dresden, reports said Wednesday (March 6).

The students will spend one semester at NTU in Taipei before moving to a TSMC fab in Taichung, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported. The project follows an agreement signed last year by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and the German government.

NTU held the launch ceremony for the “Semiconductor Talent Incubation Program Taiwan” on Wednesday. The program includes eight courses designed by professors but the students will also take part in a Mandarin-language course, cultural activities, and career development sessions.

While the first year is still in an experimental stage, NTU expects that in 2025, between 100 and 200, or even “hundreds” of students could sign up for the TSMC-related program. Because NTU only has a capacity of up to 50 students, four other universities in north Taiwan are likely to join and host the extra participants, officials said.

The first group are nationals of six countries studying in Germany. TSMC plans to build a fab near Dresden in the state of Saxony later this year with production expected to launch in 2027.