• The Mayor of Valencia announces the creation of the first semiconductor talent accelerator
• More than 350 attendes and 58 national and international speakers from the semiconductor industry address the challenges and opportunities of the development of the talent factor in the microchip and integrated photonics sector

The second edition of the Valencia Silicon Forum, the leading international forum specializing in microchip and semiconductor talent, is kicking off. It is currently bringing together international leaders, more than 58 speakers, and over 350 attendees.

At the institutional opening ceremony, the Mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, announced the launch of the first semiconductor talent accelerator, an initiative in collaboration with the Valencia Silicon Cluster. For Catalá, “this accelerator aims to prepare the next generation of professionals who will lead the future of this industry. We are convinced that talent is the most valuable resource we have, and we must develop and retain it.”

For her part, the Regional Minister of Industry and Innovation of the Valencian Government, Marián Cano, emphasized that Valencia offers optimal material conditions and human capital to consolidate its leadership in the technology sector. She also highlighted that one of the main challenges facing the Generalitat is to promote the development of the international semiconductor campus.

Along the same lines, the president of Valencia Silicon Cluster, Mayte Bacete, highlighted the role of this project: “We are promoting the creation of an international semiconductor campus, a technological hub designed to train the next generation of professionals and foster both the growth of existing companies and the emergence of new ones. This is a project of academic excellence, applied research, and knowledge transfer.”

The Director General of the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation of the Spanish Government, Javier Ponce, announced that “Spain is currently in talks with leading Asian players in the sector to explore the implementation of new industrial production capacities for photonic chips in Spain. And Valencia is in a privileged position to host this infrastructure, which could generate a significant volume of direct and indirect employment and strengthen our country’s position in the global semiconductor value chain.”

Also participating in the event were Rosa Donat, Vice-Rector for Innovation at the University of Valencia, and Salvador Coll, Vice-Rector for Innovation and Technology Transfer at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, who reaffirmed the commitment of Valencian public universities to the Valencian semiconductor ecosystem and to this second edition of the Valencia Silicon Forum.

The event, which takes place today and tomorrow at the Bancaja Foundation, will feature keynote addresses by leading industry figures who hold key positions in talent strategies for technology companies and universities globally, roundtable discussions and working groups, such as those addressing success stories in people management in the sector, and panels with experts from different business areas to offer opportunities and opportunities in their respective fields.

Additionally, parallel activities include the 4th meeting of the Spanish Group on the future European Chips Act 2.0, the European law currently being drafted that will shape the future financial and legal framework for microchips in the EU, and the meeting of the Spanish Chairs of PERTE Chip. It also hosts the presentation ceremony for the second edition of the Valencia Chip City Award, which recognizes outstanding professionals in the sector. In 2025, the award will be presented to Ray Stata, founder of Analog Devices, a historic benchmark in microelectronics.

The meeting is sponsored by the Valencia Silicon Cluster (VaSiC) and the Valencia City Council through Valencia Innovation Capital. Additionally, the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), the Valencian Government’s IVACE (Spanish National Institute of Statistics and Censuses), the Valencian Business Confederation (CEV), FEMEVAL, the University of Valencia, and the Polytechnic University of Valencia also collaborate. The event is sponsored by Semidynamics and the Spanish Association of the Semiconductor Industry (AESEMI).

The Valencia Silicon Forum is the global meeting point for the semiconductor industry and the platform for identifying, attracting, and developing specialized talent in the semiconductor sector in Spain, fostering synergies between professionals, industry, academia, and public administrations to generate an ecosystem conducive to innovation, investment, and sustainable growth in the sector.

Valencia and its metropolitan area are home to half of all microchip engineers in Spain and are the clear favorites in the race for talent within this critical sector. For this reason, as a talent forum, the Valencia Silicon Forum represents a tool with extraordinary development potential in the short, medium, and long term.

The latest technical reports indicate that the microchip sector will generate a demand for one million skilled jobs by 2030, of which more than 250,000 will be needed in Europe.

The sector, which is forecast to grow double-digitly by 2030, is attracting significant interest from major technological powers due to its strategic nature and its ability to enable other technologies such as artificial intelligence, supercomputing, aerospace, mobility, defense, and telecommunications. In addition to the keynote addresses, the conference will feature specialized panels on each of these semiconductor-related areas of activity.