Applied Materials, SIT launch semiconductor talent partnership

The partnership includes a $1m industry-based professorship and a $2m scholarship for engineering undergraduates.

Applied Materials and the Singapore Institute of Technology have launched a strategic partnership to advance AI-driven semiconductor research and talent development in Singapore.

The partnership is supported by a $3m endowed gift from Applied Materials and was launched alongside the opening of the company’s new campus in Tampines.

The initiatives include the Applied Materials Professorship, SIT’s first industry-based professorship, and the Applied Materials Scholarship.

Professor Stefan Winkler from SIT’s Engineering Cluster has been appointed as the inaugural Applied Materials Professor.

The $1m endowed professorship will focus on semiconductor technologies, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

Winkler’s research will cover semiconductor manufacturing, integrated service, and maintenance operations, with a focus on robotics and agentic AI.

The research aims to improve productivity through rare defect detection, smarter maintenance, precision automation, and better equipment performance.

It also seeks to support more autonomous, AI-driven, self-optimising manufacturing systems that can reduce unplanned downtime, enable proactive intervention, and improve throughput and yield.

The $2m endowed Applied Materials Scholarship will support SIT Engineering undergraduates from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.

Each scholarship is worth $15,000 per recipient and will be awarded annually to eligible students.

Four scholarships will be awarded in Academic Year 2026, followed by five in Academic Year 2027 and at least six in Academic Year 2028.

Eligible recipients must be Singapore citizens or permanent residents with strong academic results and a monthly household per capita income of $2,500 or less.