HIGH STAND: Redza (left) stands on a forklift mover during a recent event. The NCIA chief executive says the short-term objective of the SNUCoE programme is to train and produce 25 graduate trainees in wafer fabrication technology to fulfill the immediate industry need. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: The Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) is spearheading an initiative interlacing the industry and academia into a smart partnership to produce a pool of wafer fabrication technology graduate trainees to meet the industry need.
Known as SNUCoE (short for Silterra, NCIA, UniMAP Centre of Excellence), the programme involves collaboration among semiconductor and wafer manufacturer Silterra Malaysia Sdn Bhd, engineering-based Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and NCIA.
NCIA, which has been entrusted with the task of implementing the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) initiative, would be contributing RM2.17 million to the smart-partnership programme.
The signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoA) between Silterra and UniMAP and the launch of the SNUCoE programme by Higher Education Department director-general Datuk Prof Dr Rujhan Mustafa were held in Putrajaya recently.
NCIA chief executive Datuk Redza Rafiq said the short-term objective was to train and produce 25 graduate trainees in wafer fabrication technology to fulfill the immediate industry need.
“The long-term objective is to bridge the knowledge gap and understanding in wafer fabrication technology between industry and higher learning at undergraduate level and for capacity building at UniMAP to feed existing and future industry needs. A curriculum change is required,” he said.
Redza said the trainees would undergo a 12-month training programme at UniMAP and Silterra, nine months of which would be an industry stint. All the 25 trainees would be absorbed to work at Silterra, he said.
“The NCER is the nation’s hub for the electrical and electronics sector. The programme is necessary as it serves the function of talent pipeline creation in high-end wafer fabrication,” he said. — Bernama