Academic leaders, semiconductor executives, and government officials gathered Monday at the Asian Institute of Management to push for a stronger Philippine foothold in the global semiconductor industry’s high-value frontier: integrated circuit (IC) design.
A key outcome of the strategic dialogue, “Beyond the Assembly Line: A Foundry for Talent,” was mounting support for a proposed National IC Design Center — a shared hub envisioned to give universities secure access to Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools, advanced laboratories, faculty training, and collaborative research opportunities.
Industry leaders said the initiative could help propel the Philippines higher up the regional semiconductor value chain, strengthen ASEAN chip cooperation, and boost the country’s long-term economic resilience.
Organized by the Philippine IC Design Association, the forum reflected growing urgency for the Philippines to move beyond its traditional strengths in semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging as global demand surges for advanced chip engineering talent.
Semiconductor investor and industry veteran Sherif Sweha said countries that build strong IC design ecosystems stand to capture far greater economic value as artificial intelligence, automotive electronics, telecommunications infrastructure, and other emerging technologies fuel worldwide chip demand.
“This is an inflection point for the Philippines,” Sweha said, stressing that future competitiveness will hinge less on manufacturing scale and more on intellectual property creation, advanced engineering capability, and specialized talent development.
Participants said the sector’s biggest obstacle is not a lack of engineering talent, but a fragmented ecosystem.
University leaders pointed to limited access to industry-grade EDA tools, shortages of specialized faculty, outdated curricula, and weak STEM pipeline coordination as major barriers to scaling the country’s IC design capabilities.
