The UK Semiconductor Industry Future Skills (UK‑SIFS) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) is set to be led by
Swansea University’s Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials (CISM), working in close partnership with the
University of Leeds. The initiative is supported by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as part of a wider Industrial Strategy aimed at strengthening the country’s semiconductor capability.
The CDT has been established to provide advanced doctoral‑level training in the specialist skills required for a resilient and competitive semiconductor manufacturing sector. Through a combination of academic research and industry embedded training, the programme will produce up to 60 highly skilled PhD graduates across five cohorts, each equipped to contribute to next‑generation semiconductor technologies.
Students will undertake four‑year research projects in collaboration with leading UK semiconductor companies and organisations in related fields. The programme includes flexible pathways such as part‑time study and opportunities for professionals to complete research with their current employers while continuing their careers. A key priority is to retrain individuals from other high‑skill industries facing reduced opportunities, supporting the development of an adaptable workforce for the future.
UK‑SIFS represents a joint investment of around £18 million. Of this, £10 million is provided by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with the remainder contributed by Swansea University, the University of Leeds, and 24 industry and civic partners. Training and research will take place within advanced cleanroom facilities at Swansea’s CISM and the Bragg Centre for Materials Research at Leeds, which together represent more than £80 million worth of infrastructure. These sites are designed to replicate industrial environments, with services such as start‑up incubation aimed at supporting the wider semiconductor ecosystem.
Different way of thinkingProfessor Paul Meredith, director of the Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials at Swansea University and UK‑SIFS co‑director, said: “UK-SIFS is a completely different way of thinking about doctoral training for the UK semiconductor sector — flexible, practical training coupled with industrially relevant, world-class research.”
Professor Edmund Linfield, director of the Bragg Centre for Materials Research at the University of Leeds and UK‑SIFS co‑director, added: “UK-SIFS will support a wide range of cutting-edge projects from across science and engineering, training the future highly-skilled and diverse workforce needed by the semiconductor sector.”
Howard Rupprecht, managing director of
CSconnected Ltd, said: “This is fantastic news for skills in the semiconductor industry and related sectors. We need to accelerate and diversify work force provision, and this is especially important to support rapid growth of the semiconductor manufacturing Cluster in South Wales driven by significant investment by multinationals such as Vishay, KLA, Microchip and IQE.”
Professor Charles JM Footer,
QinetiQ Fellow, said: “The UK-SIFS CDT announcement marks the beginning of a hugely exciting and vital investment in the future of the UK’s semiconductor capability and the next generation of world-leading scientists in the area. At QinetiQ, we recognise the strategic importance of developing a highly skilled workforce to support sovereign advanced manufacturing and national security, and we very much look forward to collaborating with the CDT.”