PUFsecurity, an eMemory subsidiary, Invited to Participate in the Inaugural UK–Taiwan Semiconductor Joint Skills Project
The UK–Taiwan Semiconductor Joint Skills Project, jointly supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the British Office Taipei, and organized by SEMI in partnership with the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF), has concluded successfully in March 2026. This initiative marks the first memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Taiwan and a European country on semiconductor talent development.
PUFacademy, the chip security education platform of PUFsecurity, a subsidiary of eMemory Technology, was invited to serve as a co-instructor for the program. At the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) campus in Hsinchu, PUFacademy delivered in-depth instruction on Physically Unclonable Function (PUF) technology to electrical engineering graduate students from leading UK universities including Imperial College London, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Southampton, and led hands-on attack-and-defense exercises that gave international participants a vivid experience of Taiwan's hardware security education capabilities.
Government-Level Cooperation Takes Root: PUFacademy Partners with NYCU's Office of International Strategic Collaboration on Semiconductors and SEMI to Advance Chip Security Education
In September 2025, the governments of Taiwan and the United Kingdom formally signed the Taiwan–UK Semiconductor Joint Skills Project MOU. This month, SEMI coordinated with UKESF, NYCU, United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), and other Taiwan semiconductor institutions to bring UK graduate students to Taiwan for an intensive research residency. The curriculum spanned semiconductor device physics, embedded systems, chip security, and IC design verification, among other topics. PUFsecurity was invited to co-teach alongside the broader program faculty, providing UK participants with a direct industry perspective.
Since its founding in 2019, PUFacademy has been committed to promoting chip security education, building deep collaborative relationships with institutions including the Institute for Information Industry (III) and multiple national universities. Being formally welcomed into this government-level bilateral framework represents not only a recognition of PUFacademy's professional expertise in chip security education, but also a landmark moment, the first time a Taiwan-based hardware security education institution has formally and systematically delivered cutting-edge PUF technology curriculum to elite international engineering talent.
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▌From Fundamentals to Real-World Attack and Defense: A Full-Spectrum PUF Security Curriculum
PUFacademy's course module was centered on PUF chip security technology, delivered by PUFsecurity's senior technical team with a curriculum that balanced theoretical depth and hands-on application. Key components included:
- PUF Principles & Applications: Starting from the physical characteristics of semiconductor manufacturing processes, participants explored how PUF generates unclonable chip fingerprints and its critical role in device authentication and cryptographic key generation.
- Attack & Defense Exercises: Simulating real-world chip attack scenarios, students hands-on operated side-channel analysis techniques and practiced corresponding defensive strategies, gaining a concrete and lasting understanding of why hardware security design matters.
- UK–Taiwan Mixed-Team Collaboration: Select sessions were conducted in cross-cultural mixed groups, fostering deep interaction between Taiwanese and British students and strengthening bilateral talent networks alongside technical exchange.
" It is a great honor for PUFsecurity to represent Taiwan in delivering PUF chip security training to some of the UK's finest engineering graduates within this landmark bilateral collaboration. We believe that letting international talent directly experience the depth and practical rigor of Taiwan's hardware security education is one of the most powerful ways to raise the global profile of Taiwan's semiconductor industry. We look forward to this engagement becoming an important springboard for future UK–Taiwan chip security talent exchange. "
— Charles Hsu, Chairman of eMemory
Years of Teaching Experience and Published Works Underpin PUFacademy's Curriculum
The success of this program reflects the deep expertise PUFacademy has built through years of dedicated work in chip security education. PUFacademy has established a strong industry-academia partnership with the Office of International Strategic Collaboration on Semiconductors at NYCU. Recognizing PUFacademy's teaching excellence and technical depth in the field of chip security, the Office invited PUFacademy to join this UK–Taiwan government-level initiative and deliver coursework at the NYCU campus.
PUFacademy's course content and teaching materials are grounded in first-hand classroom experience at university campuses. Through direct interaction with students, the team has developed a precise understanding of the gap between academic learning and industry expectations, continuously refining the curriculum to ensure learners acquire skills that meet real-world engineering demands. From a systematically structured curriculum and rich hands-on case studies to the publication of professional textbooks on chip security. All of these represent the concrete output of a long-standing commitment to education, and have established PUFacademy as a trusted learning resource for both the industry and academia.
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Committed to Chip Security Education, with Eyes on Global Talent Development
With SEMI projecting a global semiconductor talent shortfall of over one million professionals by 2030, PUFacademy remains committed to serving as a key driver of chip security talent development in Taiwan, actively expanding its international collaboration footprint, bringing Taiwan's deep expertise in hardware security education to the world stage, and helping safeguard the digital trust that underpins the technology industry.
About PUFsecurity
PUFsecurity, a subsidiary of eMemory Technology founded in 2019, specializes in PUF-based security IP solutions. Leveraging eMemory's proprietary NeoPUF and OTP technologies, PUFsecurity focuses on native key generation and full-stack security architecture to help chip designers build sustainable security in the quantum era. Its product portfolio, PUF-PQC, PUFcc, PUFrt, and PUFhsm, provides protection and authentication for next-generation connected devices. PUFacademy, PUFsecurity's education initiative, is dedicated to advancing chip security education, nurturing practice-oriented security professionals, and promoting awareness and application of chip security across industry, government, and academia.
About Office of International Strategic Cooperation on Semiconductors, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
The Office of International Strategic Cooperation on Semiconductors (OISCS) at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) was established to aggregate administrative strategies and college energy, coordinating policy and integrating resources. The office is dedicated to promoting talent development strategies, as well as mechanisms and opportunities for international industry-academia-research collaboration in the semiconductor field. By hosting transnational training programs, such as the UK-Taiwan Semiconductor Joint Skills Project and customized IC Design short courses, and actively engaging in bilateral exchanges with leading global institutions, OISCS serves as a vital bridge connecting semiconductor expertise of Taiwan with the world to cultivate high-level professionals with a global perspective.
About SEMI
SEMI® is the global industry association representing the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, connecting more than 3,000 member companies and 1.5 million professionals worldwide. Through programs spanning policy advocacy, workforce development, sustainability, and supply chain management, SEMI empowers its members to collaborate on the industry's most critical challenges. SEMI's SEMICON® Taiwan exhibitions and events, technical communities, standards development, and market intelligence help members drive business growth and innovation across design, components, equipment, materials, services, and software — advancing electronics that are smarter, faster, and more secure.
