Qnity Electronics is pairing University of Delaware engineering students with its technical leaders and opening a pilot work-study program, turning a local university relationship into a direct pipeline for semiconductor manufacturing talent and automation work.
As reported by Manufacturing Dive, the partnership combines student capstone projects, faculty research collaboration and access to specialized University of Delaware facilities. Qnity says the effort is aimed at manufacturing and operational challenges that can be tackled in real project settings rather than only in coursework.
For IT and engineering teams, the notable detail is the emphasis on automation. Students in the pilot work-study program will gain industry experience while contributing to Qnity automation projects, potentially exposing future engineers to the operational technology, materials processes and data-driven manufacturing environments increasingly central to chip production.
University of Delaware’s College of Engineering already uses corporate-sponsored capstone work to put multidisciplinary student teams on practical assignments. The school’s Corporate Partnership Program positions these projects as a way for companies to access student talent, faculty expertise and technical resources while building longer-term recruiting relationships.
Qnity will use that structure to connect students with company technical heads. The goal is not merely campus recruiting: it is to give the company early exposure to engineers who have worked on problems resembling its own manufacturing constraints.
That matters as semiconductor suppliers compete not only for chip-design specialists, but also for process, materials, automation, data and reliability engineers. A work-study model can shorten the gap between academic skills and the controls-heavy reality of advanced manufacturing.
The partnership arrives as Qnity expands its manufacturing and R&D presence in Delaware. In March, the company opened a 385,000-square-foot Newark facility intended to expand production of chemical mechanical planarization materials for AI, high-performance computing and advanced-connectivity demand.
Qnity, spun off from DuPont’s electronics business in 2025, has also been broadening its external R&D network. The company announced a collaboration with NVIDIA in March focused on using accelerated computing in semiconductor and advanced-electronics materials research, while Manufacturing Dive reported that it joined imec research programs in late July.
For Delaware’s semiconductor ecosystem, the practical measure of success will be whether these capstones and work-study placements turn into repeat hires and manufacturing improvements—not simply another university-industry memorandum.
For IT and engineering teams, the notable detail is the emphasis on automation. Students in the pilot work-study program will gain industry experience while contributing to Qnity automation projects, potentially exposing future engineers to the operational technology, materials processes and data-driven manufacturing environments increasingly central to chip production.
Capstones Become a Recruitment Channel
University of Delaware’s College of Engineering already uses corporate-sponsored capstone work to put multidisciplinary student teams on practical assignments. The school’s Corporate Partnership Program positions these projects as a way for companies to access student talent, faculty expertise and technical resources while building longer-term recruiting relationships.Qnity will use that structure to connect students with company technical heads. The goal is not merely campus recruiting: it is to give the company early exposure to engineers who have worked on problems resembling its own manufacturing constraints.
That matters as semiconductor suppliers compete not only for chip-design specialists, but also for process, materials, automation, data and reliability engineers. A work-study model can shorten the gap between academic skills and the controls-heavy reality of advanced manufacturing.
Research Access Extends Beyond Hiring
The collaboration also gives Qnity a channel to work with UD faculty on semiconductor-materials research and to use university facilities, including the Keck Center for Advanced Microscopy and Microanalysis. Such tools are relevant for investigating material composition, defects and process-related performance issues at scales difficult to address with standard production-line instrumentation.The partnership arrives as Qnity expands its manufacturing and R&D presence in Delaware. In March, the company opened a 385,000-square-foot Newark facility intended to expand production of chemical mechanical planarization materials for AI, high-performance computing and advanced-connectivity demand.
Qnity, spun off from DuPont’s electronics business in 2025, has also been broadening its external R&D network. The company announced a collaboration with NVIDIA in March focused on using accelerated computing in semiconductor and advanced-electronics materials research, while Manufacturing Dive reported that it joined imec research programs in late July.
A Local Ecosystem Play, Not a Standalone Internship
Qnity CTO Randy King characterized the University of Delaware agreement as an investment in hands-on learning, automation and workforce development. The company’s immediate benefit may be a stronger regional hiring pipeline, but the longer-term value is access to research talent, advanced characterization equipment and student teams that can test ideas before they become full production programs.For Delaware’s semiconductor ecosystem, the practical measure of success will be whether these capstones and work-study placements turn into repeat hires and manufacturing improvements—not simply another university-industry memorandum.