Global competitiveness, outsourcing, and education in the semiconductor industry

I HAVE EARLIER TALKED about the changing global semiconductor industry (" The Changing Face of IC Design and Its Industry, " IEEE Design & Test, Nov.-Dec. 2003). This is an industry in massive structural transformation , from manufacturing migration to the rise of fabless design houses in a rapidly disaggregating marketplace for semiconductors. And yet, it presents a tremendous potential for economic growth as never before: Semiconductors account for about 19% (in dollar value) of the trillion-dollar electronic systems market with another 10% proliferation potential fueled by the expanding wireless and consumer appliance markets. Computing remains a major consumer of chips, with semiconductor sales and employment closely tracking IT spending (Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, Aug. 2004). The controversy over outsourcing jobs to low-cost labor markets is currently rocking the IT industry (" Changing Labor Market Conditions for High Tech Professionals, " The scope of this issue extends beyond the semiconductor industry, but perhaps its long-term effects are felt more deeply here. The semiconductor industry has always been a global industry—from the movement of materials to talent—it has relied on the best and most cost-effective resources on the planet. The effects of structural changes in the semiconductor industry are felt worldwide. For a variety of reasons related to public policy , this outsourcing debate is particularly heated in the US. The US educational system has been intimately tied to the American high-tech immigration experience. Thus, any debate about such issues must be cognizant of its long-term impact on technological competitiveness in an era of broadened educational experience. With this issue, D&T launches its Perspectives department , edited by Yervant Zorian and Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, focusing on the current topic of global competitiveness and outsourcing. There is no denying the painful effects of outsourcing in the high-tech industry: Many in this industry have felt these at the most personal level. Yet, is it really business as usual, a phenomenon faced by other industries before? Or is something more fundamental going on? To wit, engineering jobs also provide fertile training ground for high-tech entrepreneurial talent; witness the number of start-ups created by former engineers. If routine engineering jobs shift overseas, where will the future talent for new industrial leadership come from? The US higher educational system has been the hub of gathering such talent, refining and training it to provide the talent pool for the semiconductor industry. How is this pool changing? Is …