Manufacturing News
September 29, 2026
September 29, 2026 · Tippecanoe County · Story 5 of 6
Purdue-Illinois Semiconductor Workforce Initiative
Purdue University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign signed an MOU on Sept. 18, 2026, publicly announced Sept. 21, to launch a joint semiconductor workforce initiative covering fab operations, chip design/testing, and advanced packaging. Deans Mark Lundstrom (Purdue) and Rashid Bashir (Illinois) signed the agreement, which will be guided by Purdue's Semiconductor Degrees Leadership Board, more than 30 member companies co-chaired by Keyvan Esfarjani and Anthony Yen.
- Impact
- Purdue Research Park already has a captive employer roster: SK Hynix's $4 billion advanced-packaging facility, MediaTek's Midwest office, and imec's research hub, that Arizona State and Ohio State can't match without recruiting from distant fabs, giving this pipeline a sharper concentration play than rival programs. But the governance is asymmetric: Illinois is plugging into a board Purdue already convenes and co-chairs, the executive director seat remains vacant, and McKinsey data shows 53% of existing semiconductor workers were considering leaving their jobs in 2023 with a third of the workforce over 55, meaning new grads may simply backfill exits rather than grow net capacity for employers counting on this pipeline.
- Watch
- The appointment of the initiative's executive director, and whether UIUC students gain access to Purdue Research Park's embedded industry partners or the benefit stays West Lafayette-only.
- For the huddle
If SK Hynix's advanced-packaging ramp at Purdue Research Park needs credentialed workers within two to three years, are we positioned to recruit from this pipeline before it gets absorbed by SK Hynix and MediaTek first?
From the brief, September 29, 2026
- AES Indiana's Phase 2 Rate Increase Continues While the SPARK Grant Covers the Seam Upgrade
- Nestle Loses $21 Million Tax Reduction Bid in Anderson
- Slate Auto and Two Orthopedic Suppliers Compete for the Same Warsaw Workers
- Gov. Braun's $175M Federal SPARK Grid Grant
- Purdue-Illinois Semiconductor Workforce Initiative
- Purdue Opens Rittal/Eplan Engineering Labs
This story
Related
- Nucor's $105 Million Crawfordsville Expansion, SEL's $25 Million West Lafayette Bet, and Indiana's Industrial Property Tax Increase for 2027
- Nucor, Amazon, and Doral Solar Compete for the Indiana Welding Workforce Shortage
- Dalton Foundry Reopening in Warsaw, Indiana Runs on a Different Clock Than the Automakers Buying Its Blocks
Manufacturers Energy Grant Program
Free for Tippecanoe County manufacturers
Tippecanoe County manufacturers receive free, ongoing energy auditing and cost control that reduces their energy bills and keeps them low, month after month. Every line item checked and validated, every opportunity found comes with a step-by-step guide to capture it.
EDCs: sponsor this program and it carries your organization's name For economic developers →