Taiwan is piquing interest in chips by organizing summer camps designed to spark interest in Taiwan’s chip industry.

Dressed in white protective gear and a face mask, 16-year-old Nicolas Chueh listened attentively as a guide explained the inner workings of Taiwan’s advanced semiconductor machinery.

Chueh, a dual Taiwanese-Belgian national living in Singapore, was one of several students from eight countries attending a summer camp designed to spark interest in Taiwan’s critical chip industry—a sector now grappling with a deepening labour crisis driven by the island’s declining birth rate.

Organised by U.S. chip design software firm Synopsys, the camp is one of several initiatives launched in recent years by tech firms and universities in Taiwan to inspire the next generation of semiconductor engineers. With demand for chips—essential for electronics, AI systems, and servers—soaring globally, companies are increasingly turning to youth outreach to fill the talent gap.

This year, Synopsys expanded its program to include English-language sessions in a bid to attract overseas students. “There is an urgent need to strengthen STEM education from an early age,” said Robert Li, Synopsys Taiwan chairman. “Taiwan’s semiconductor strength meets a demographic cliff. That’s why we must act now.”

The stakes are high. Taiwan, home to industry giants like TSMC, MediaTek, and UMC, plays a pivotal role in the global chip supply chain. But job vacancies in the sector have surged from 19,401 in Q2 2020 to 33,725 in Q2 2025, according to local HR firm 104 Corporation.

Fewer births—down from over 210,000 in 2014 to just 135,000 in 2024—and a 15% decline in STEM graduates threaten to stall the sector’s momentum.

In response, universities and companies are building pathways for foreign talent and younger students alike. As NYCU President Chi-Hung Lin put it: “If they’re curious now, they won’t reject it later.”