• The second edition of the Valencia Silicon Forum will bring together some of the most emblematic figures on the international scene
• The microchip sector is attracting the utmost interest of the major technological powers due to its strategic nature and its role in enabling other technologies such as artificial intelligence, supercomputing, aerospace, mobility and defence

The second edition of the Valencia Silicon Forum, the leading international forum specialising in microchip and semiconductor talent, will be held in Valencia on 18 and 19 September at the Bancaja Foundation, with a packed agenda of keynote speeches, presentations, round tables, working groups and parallel activities. In addition, the Congress will host the presentation of the II VLC Chip City Award, which this year will go to one of the most prominent figures in the global semiconductor industry.

This edition of the event is consolidating its position as the strategic meeting point for identifying, attracting and developing specialised talent in the semiconductor sector in Spain and promoting synergies between professionals, industry, academia and public administrations to generate an ecosystem conducive to innovation, investment and sustainable growth in the sector.

Valencia Silicon Forum is an initiative promoted by the Valencian semiconductor industry cluster, Valencia Silicon Cluster (VaSiC), which brings together multinationals such as MaxLinear, Analog Devices, ams Osram, Bosch, VLC Photonics / Hitachi High-Tech and leading Spanish companies such as iPronics, Das Photonics, Digital Health Data and Gobernanza Industrial.

The Valencia Silicon Forum is organised by Valencia City Council as part of its Valencia Innovation Capital strategy. The University of Valencia, the Polytechnic University of Valencia, the Valencian Regional Government, the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT) and the Spanish Semiconductor Industry Association are also part of this initiative, which focuses specifically on developing talent in the semiconductor sector.

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

Valencia and its metropolitan area account for half of all microchip engineers in Spain and are the clear favourite in the race for talent in this critical sector, which is why, as a talent forum, the Valencia Silicon Forum represents a tool with extraordinary development potential in the short, medium and long term.

A CONFERENCE WITH WORLD-CLASS CONTENT

The Valencia Silicon Forum will feature keynote speeches by leading figures in the industry who hold positions of utmost importance in the talent strategies of technology companies and universities worldwide.

It will also specifically address the challenges and opportunities posed by the development of talent in the field of microchips and integrated photonics. The sector, which is forecast to grow at double-digit rates until 2030, is attracting the utmost interest of the major technological powers due to its strategic nature and its role in enabling other technologies such as artificial intelligence, supercomputing, aerospace, mobility, defence and telecommunications. In addition to keynote speeches, the conference will feature specialised round tables on each of these areas of activity related to semiconductors.

The II Valencia Silicon Forum will also host the 4th meeting of the Spanish Group on the future European Chips Act 2.0, the European law currently being drafted that will design the future financial and legal framework for microchips in the EU. The Spanish ecosystem is participating very intensively in the drafting of this new European law through an initiative led by Valencia Silicon Cluster, the Spanish Semiconductor Industry Association, the Official Association of Telecommunications Engineers of Spain, the business association ADigital and the Valencian and Catalan employers’ associations CEV and Foment del Treball.

2ND EDITION IN VALENCIA AFTER THE SUCCESS OF THE 2024 EVENTS

2024 was a preparatory year for the intense conference activity in the microchip and photonics sector that is set to consolidate in the city of Valencia, as two semiconductor conferences were held in the city with remarkable impact: the first edition of the Valencia Silicon Forum and the 2nd edition of Chipnation at CaixaForum, which brought together more than 60 speakers and attracted well over 300 attendees.