Selected from among more than 100 applicants, these outstanding students come from Taiwan’s leading science and technology universities—partners of UGA —(National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, National Cheng Kung University, and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University), representing the region’s three major academic and industrial hubs: Taipei, Hsinchu, and Tainan.
For two weeks, they explored the Grenoble semiconductor and microelectronics ecosystem in depth, through visits to the key players that shape the ecosystem: UGA, CEA, CNRS, GEM, Grenoble INP-UGA, ESRF, EMBL, ILL, and leading industrial players such as STMicroelectronics, Soitec, and Schneider Electric. This region—unique in Europe, where fundamental research, pilot production lines, and industrial transfer are concentrated within just a few square kilometers—served as the central theme of their immersion.
The Taipei Representative Office in France (BRTF) was present at the event held on campus, a clear sign of the importance both sides attach to this program.
The pursuit of excellence, disruptive innovation, and industrial partnerships: UGA is at the heart of a Grenoble ecosystem that is unique in Europe. The event highlighted this reality: high-achieving Taiwanese students engaging directly with the laboratories, innovation initiatives, and key players that make the university and its partners so distinctive.
Welcomed at MUSE, UGA’s student services center, they discovered the full range of resources the university offers its students—particularly international students—including assistance with settling in, French language classes, high-level sports programs, and student entrepreneurship through Pépite Ozer and its FabLab. A presentation on doctoral programs then covered the essentials: at UGA, a dissertation is conducted within an environment where research, innovation, and industry are closely intertwined. Discussions continued around key issues at the heart of UGA’s commitment to research excellence: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and, of course, microelectronics. The meeting with UGA doctoral students was a key moment, offering a concrete opportunity to understand what it means to work on a dissertation within an ecosystem where basic research, flagship projects, and industrial partnerships coexist within just a few square kilometers.
This program is part of a series of seven Pathfinders initiatives planned for 2026, each linking a specific theme to a French city. Grenoble’s expertise in semiconductors naturally led to the selection of Grenoble and the University of Grenoble Alpes (UGA) as the host location for this component. The long-term goal is to turn these young graduates into future ambassadors for the region and to invest in a generation of Taiwanese technical and strategic decision-makers who are already familiar with Grenoble’s innovation model.
