For more than two decades, SEMI High Tech U, a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) career exploration program, has motivated thousands of high-school students across 16 states and 11 countries to explore careers in the microelectronics industry. A 2018 longitudinal study of High Tech U participants showed the program’s deep influence: 82% of SEMI HTU graduates followed a path to higher education, 78% completed STEM degrees, and 70% reported that the program influenced their choice of field or career.
These results clearly demonstrate the importance of building awareness of careers in the industry early on. Today, as supply chain issues deepen and the chip shortage grows more acute, semiconductors have become a much more common topic in everyday news feeds. Often overshadowed in the imaginations of young people by many consumer-facing tech companies, the crucial chip industry now finds itself occupying center stage in the national and global dialogue. It is a timely moment to re-invest in raising awareness of the microelectronics industry across the K-12 spectrum and to widen the recruitment funnel for the industry to grow its talent pipeline – the very heartbeat of innovation.
As the world worked through the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SEMI Foundation saw the opportunity to reimagine High Tech U in the new normal – most notably by making it top priority to scale the program to help meet the semiconductor industry’s growing workforce demands and reach many more students. A key element of this expansion of SEMI High Tech U is to harness the immense reach of K-12 teachers, each influencing nearly 150 students each day.
The new program – High Tech U in the Classroom – will provide teachers with engaging, hands-on STEM kits and curriculum with clear relevance to the microelectronics industry. Students will not only learn how to code a microcontroller to test and prototype a medtech innovation, but they will also connect what they learned to contemporary real-world innovations powered by the industry, such as the fall detection feature on their grandparent’s smartwatch. The program’s much lower implementation cost per student will make it easier for schools to participate. As a former teacher myself, I would have jumped at the opportunity to give my students access to hands-on experiential learning that also teaches them about an industry they may not have explored before.
Students simulate a layering process in a High Tech U module.
Besides teaching students the crucial role of the microelectronics industry in daily life, High Tech U in the Classroom will connect thousands of new students to SEMI’s growing workforce development offerings. For example, teachers will be able to connect students to features of the SEMI Industry Image and Awareness Campaign. This includes an interactive career exploration website targeted for students that will launch this year. As students near high-school graduation, they can also choose to continue their education at one of more than 200 higher education institutions involved in the SEMI-ASA partnership.
High Tech U in the Classroom will also allow SEMI Foundation and SEMI members to operationalize their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments and target outreach to student populations that are historically underrepresented in the microelectronics industry. Sponsoring companies can choose to focus on specific geographic areas or Title I schools that may not otherwise have access to hands-on STEM resources.
Students create their first circuit during SEMICON West 2021.
In the first pilot of High Tech U in the Classroom sponsored by the KLA Foundation, teachers in 13 schools across the San Francisco Bay Area will receive over 600 STEM kits, which will reach an estimated 1,400 students. On average, 76% of the schools’ students are socioeconomically disadvantaged, with 40% students classified as English learners. This targeted outreach will help engage and inspire students who grow up in Silicon Valley but might feel little connection to the industry that gave the area its name.
Teachers will have an option to receive one of two kits: Micro:bit and CircuitScribe – both selected because of their versatility. Each can be used across various grade levels and content areas, allowing SEMI Foundation to expand High Tech U’s reach from high schools all the way down to elementary schools.
Micro:bit kits feature a pocket-sized computer that includes an LED array, buttons and sensors. The kit introduces students to coding and demonstrates the relationship between software and hardware. Students code their micro:bit in a beginner-friendly environment, allowing them to creatively explore uses for sensors and hardware.
CircuitScribe kits will give each student a conductive pen, an inventor’s workbook, and various modules that allow students to create hand-drawn circuits. This kit helps students learn the basics of circuits and allows for innovative projects, such as devising their own uses for flashing lights.
SEMI High Tech U Kits for Hands-On Learning
With career awareness and education key to engaging students to explore semiconductor career options, High Tech U in the Classroom will enable the SEMI Foundation and SEMI members to reach K-12 students at scale. We invite companies to join us in this critical STEM education work and strengthen their brand recognition by sponsoring High Tech U in the Classroom kits. For more details or to partner with us, please contact Berton Mahardja at [email protected].
About the Author
Berton Mahardja is senior manager of Global Education Initiatives at SEMI. Prior to joining SEMI, Berton served in various roles across K-12 education. He is passionate about programs that support equitable STEM learning for students and adults.
