As America’s semiconductor university, Purdue is making giant leaps for global impact in semiconductors

Purdue International Semiconductor Partnerships

Map of Purdue International Semiconductor Partnerships

India and Asia

India is vital to Purdue’s semiconductor strategy. From a landmark alliance with the government of India to joint R&D programs and dual-degree offerings with leading academic partners, Purdue is helping shape the future of India’s chip economy.

Anchoring this momentum is the new U.S.-India Center of Excellence in Semiconductors (CES), centerpiece of the INDUSCHIPS alliance. The announcement, with U.S. Sen. Todd Young and U.S. ambassador to India Eric Garcetti in attendance, marked a major step in bilateral collaboration. CES will unite academia, industry, and government to accelerate advances from chip design to advanced packaging — serving as a model for partnership. Purdue is also investing in talent pipelines: Multiple cohorts of Indian students have completed hands-on research at the Birck Nanotechnology Center, with more expected.

Across Asia, Purdue is broadening its reach. A new summer bootcamp program will welcome South Korean students for intensive training in advanced chip design. The Center for a Secure Microelectronics Ecosystem (CSME) has also welcomed MediaTek as a member alongside TSMC and Synopsys to tackle design and supply chain security challenges.

UPWARDS Network

Purdue is a founding member of the U.S.-Japan University Partnership for Workforce Advancement and Research & Development in Semiconductors (UPWARDS), launched in 2023 by Micron, Tokyo Electron, and NSF. Partnering with 10 universities in the U.S. and Japan, Purdue helps build industry-aligned curricula, expand opportunities for women, foster exchanges, and advance memory-centric research. With over $60 million in joint investment, UPWARDS aims to strengthen fabrication, design, packaging, and process technologies while preparing a diverse, skilled microelectronics workforce.

Group picture of American and Japanese students
The 5th UPWARDS U.S.-Japan Meeting on November 13 and 14, 2025 held in Tokyo, Japan, welcoming over 70 guests from 11 Japanese and U.S. universities as well as the two industry leaders that started UPWARDS: Micron and Tokyo Electron (TEL)

Europe/U.K.

In Europe, Purdue partners with imec, which established a research hub on Purdue’s campus, and with ASML, the world leader in photolithography, to advance next-generation manufacturing and workforce training. In the U.K., Purdue’s partnership with King’s College London is accelerating innovation at the intersection of semiconductors and AI.

Latin America

In 2025, Purdue signed MOUs with Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, with a major delegation visit planned this year. In the Dominican Republic, a 2024 MOU led to new partnerships and the 2025 visit of President Luis Abinader to Purdue. In Panama, a 2024 agreement quickly brought the first Universidad de Panamá students to Purdue in 2025 for internships.