How Infineon develops top STEM talent through university partnerships

Strong university-industry collaboration is key to developing the next generation of innovators, specially in today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape. Infineon Technologies, a global leader in semiconductor solutions, has embraced this approach through its partnership with UNITECH International, a European programme connecting top STEM students with industry leaders.

In this episode, Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff, Director of University Relations at Infineon, shares how the company goes beyond sponsorships to actively engage in talent development. From offering international internships to providing real-world case studies and expert coaching, Infineon ensures that students gain both academic knowledge and hands-on experience. But what makes these partnerships truly successful? According to Rainer, it’s long-term commitment, trust, and a deep integration of industry insights into education.

You can listen to the full interview in our podcast:

Also available on:

Transcript

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

It is my pleasure to welcome Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff, Director of University Relations at Infineon Technologies. We will be looking especially into how Infineon successfully partners with a program called UNITECH, which is a leading European university-industry excellence program. Rainer is also a member of our UIIN business group, so we always have very nice conversations.

Thank you, Rainer, for joining.

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

Thank you very much, Balzhan. It is my pleasure.

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

Before we start, I would like to say a few words about Infineon as well. Infineon is a global leader in semiconductor solutions. As I mentioned, they partner with UNITECH to connect with top STEM talent from nine prestigious European universities. It is a very interesting program and I think today we are very much looking into learning how can you better partner with programs like that, for example, if you are working in industry, how can it be useful when it comes to preparing universities to help the next generation leaders, but also from the muscle company perspective, how can you align with some of those industry needs when it comes to educating the talent and then connecting back to universities and creating effective collaborations with them as well.

Maybe just to set the scene and for us and for our audience to understand a little bit better what Infineon does and what UNITECH collaboration really means, could you tell us a little bit more about what motivated Infineon to join UNITECH and what was the key business case for this investment in university partnership?

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

Thank you very much for your very kind introduction. My name is Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff and I have been working within the corporate Human Resources Department of Infineon for more than 25 years now. Infineon is a global leader in semiconductor technology, as Balzhan already mentioned. So, we are driving decarbonisation and digitalisation for clean, green and efficient energy generation and consumption, and of course, for a smart and secure IOT. As you all might know, our products, which are mainly microchips, are barely visible, but they are crucial in almost all electronic systems in your smartphones, cars, renewable energy systems, and last but not least, of course, very important also to power AI systems.

In my role as a University Relations Director, I am focusing on building bridges between academic institutions and our company, with a focus on employer branding, education, innovation, and of course, the sustainable talent pipeline. This is where UNITECH International comes into play because. We are interested in excellent STEM talent, and UNITECH is a European excellence program; I would even say it is a leadership development program for excellence for STEM students from many prestigious European universities from diverse countries.

I would say that is the first reason why it could make sense to start a collaboration. It started a long time ago, 25 years to be precise. At that time, UNITECH was created, in parallel to Infineon’s foundation. We were a well-known company in Germany in that moment, but not so much in other European countries, because we were a spin-off of a German company.

That is why our ambition was to make Infineon visible to excellent STEM talents all over Europe, and UNITECH and its academic partner network and nine universities was an ideal platform for us to gain this visibility and get access to excellent STEM talent. Excellent STEM talent is exceptional, of course, in an academic sense, but combined with a certain leadership and business ambition is rare, and that is what we found in UNITECH, and especially in those students who were subscribing for the program.

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

Wonderful, thank you so much. A very timely collaboration that emerged over two decades ago. I also find it very interesting how they were on your radar, so I am actually very curious to hear how this collaboration evolved over the years and how it perhaps also affected the way that Infineon would generally conduct those kinds of relationships.

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

First of all, I think it is very important to set the right expectations within the company. Starting a collaboration or membership in such a program does not mean that in the first year you already harvest a lot. It is very important to communicate appropriate expectations internally. One of the most important learnings is not only about paying a membership fee, but to really engage in the program, and this is where UNITECH offers companies a lot of opportunities, because of how they can engage with the students.

The students not only have to do one semester abroad in one of the academic partner institutions, but they are also obliged to do an international internship in the corporate partner companies. Then, there are different individual coaching.  There are three weeks of coaching, and, within these sessions, companies can provide case studies, for example, and company advisors, and you can be involved in the program with your colleagues.

Even in the beginning of the program, when the students are selected, there are assessment centres, and we are also sending assessors there in order to select the right people. So, I think this is very important: right expectation setting, start small and then grow in the program.

It is always important to communicate internally the success stories as well. This is very important. And then of course, you mentioned it already Balzhan, it is already a long-time collaboration. Continuity is of course not only key, but also a success factor. You cannot be constantly switching on and off these kinds of programs. You need a commitment over a longer time, over a longer period, which could be increased year on year, for example on the number of internships, or by having the first hirings, and so on.

Over the years, the program evolved and was more and more established in the company. And the more established the program is, the more you can harvest.

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

I couldn’t help but notice that yet again trust is a very important foundation, also when you are engaged in a program like that. I can also imagine how important it is to then have this continuity.

You already talked a little bit about how you would go about building this strong talent pipeline. Now, I would like to go a bit deeper, so maybe you could also tell us more about the most valuable components of that program, in terms of how we can better prepare the talent and the technology leaders. Because, from what you are telling me, there are so many different things that UNITECH provides in terms of industry exposure, academic exchange, personal coaching…

Are there any elements that you would see as essential for building that talent pipeline? And why is UNITECH so important in the collaboration with Infineon?

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

Sure. UNITECH students tell us what the most important thing is. The most important element for them, and this is also I think the USP of UNITECH, is the individual coaching, because this is really outstanding, and it is really a differentiating factor to a pure academic exchange program.

In addition, within these three coaching weeks you get feedback and industrial company exposure, because coaches can be from the companies as well. You are working in diverse teams with your peer students on real case studies from companies. And then, of course, the most important thing is that you get individual feedback on your personality, on your development, and I can really confirm that. It is amazing when we see the students entering the program and then, one and a half or two years later, when they leave the program, in terms of personality, it is really amazing to see what they have achieved.

They are also looking forward to this development, and they are ready to accept the feedback to develop further. And this is, to my opinion, the most important element of the whole program, as it is for the students, for every single personality.

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

It is all about people, isn’t it? I really appreciate that the student gets such attention and that they are really being guided through the process with coaching and mentoring. I now know exactly why Infineon would hire them, because I am aware that you employ some of those students as a result of the program.

What would you say differentiates those students from others in a talent pool? How do you think those students actually contribute to Infineon’s innovation culture?

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

I think this is a very important and a very good question. In one sentence, I would phrase it as: “It is the UNITECH attitude”.

As I mentioned, UNITECH is a leadership development program. So, the excellent students who apply for UNITECH already have the ambition. I would say they are interested in growing further, in taking over leadership responsibility roles at some point in their professional career.

Then, the second point is that all these students are selected, so they have to pass a one-day assessment. From the excellent applicants, we select the best, so that is why you have a very high-quality level, amongst these university tech students.

In our company when I talk to hiring managers, UNITECH is already a quality label, so they know what is in it. When they see it is a UNITECH student, they know what they get in terms of performance, in terms of potential and in terms of ambition. They make a difference.

It is a highly diverse group because they are coming from different countries, not only Germany, but France, Italy, the Northern countries, UK… So, they bring in different perspectives from different academic systems as well.

We have, and this is also a very convincing point, a relatively high share in women. It is a STEM program, but there are roughly 35% female talents in it, which is of course also highly attractive for us to get these female STEM talents also. And at the end of the day, when they are here doing an internship, they convince us with their performance, with their potential, with their communication skills, how they behave… So, really great personalities.

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

That is very wonderful to hear, especially the variety of the different profiles that you can get that is very impressive.

Which makes me wonder, what role does the university play in particular, in preparing for this program? What do they do to support their students on this journey?

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

They do a lot. Our academic partners are very crucial for the success of the whole program because they lay the foundation with their excellent academic education. Then are organising everything in their respective universities: holding the promotion, the selection process, hosting all the events…

We have the midterm week, the end of year and starter week, where all these coaching takes place, where the case studies take place and so on. So, they are offering all their expertise to organise big education events in their premises. And these events are different from another. When you are in the program, three different universities are present in these three different events. So, this helps to broaden the horizon, as the academic institution brings in also a lot of variety and diversity.

Also, I would say academic culture wise, and this is also very enriching also for the students, because they not only experience the academic environment in their academic semester abroad where they really deep dive in one country and in one university, but through the events in the other universities, they also get a glimpse, an idea of academic cultures in other universities, in other countries. And this is a plus as well, of course.

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

Talking about the industry perspective in general, in programmes like UNITECH there might be other facilitated spaces for how this collaboration can be organised. What are the challenges in collaborating with universities outside of this program?

Because again, this is an orchestrated way to engage, which I think obviously makes it somewhat easier, at least for both parties involved. But what are some of the barriers that you notice when it comes to creating those talent pipelines outside of the program? Feel free to talk about UNITECH as well obviously.

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

I think when we talk about university-company collaboration on different levels and in different areas, whether it is research or innovation or talent or education, we all know that we are coming from different worlds, so to say. We are different organisations.

On one hand, we have public academic institutions which have to follow certain regulations, and so on and so forth. They have, of course, scientific ambitions, but scientific excellence is measured in a different way in companies.

We have different KPIs, and, in terms of speed, time to market profitability are  important. Of course, these are completely different KPIs from the academic world, which is important to know. That is why we need solutions where this difference, this structural systemic difference, has not a negative impact on the way we collaborate. That is why expectation setting is very important. When we started collaborating with universities, we had to be patient and not expect results in the first three month, taking it from a company perspective.

On the other hand, sometimes universities like to have a comprehensive collaboration over five years with an amount of money involved. This is maybe a bit too much, and companies might be a bit more reluctant.

My recommendation would be to start small, review what you are doing, and then grow together.

Sometimes you have to test it, and as you mentioned it already, Balzhan, trust is very important, and you have to build trust, which can be done in smaller steps.

Then later on, with continuity, with commitment from both sides, with transparency about the goals that both sides have, a sustainable collaboration could work, especially when it creates a win-win situation, so both sides can harvest. A trustful and regular communication is very important through the process.

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

I couldn’t agree more. I think indeed it all takes time. You talked about managing expectations and having a transparent communication, which both are obviously very important, and I really see the big role that platforms like UNITECH can play in this area.

So, it is great to hear that there are some dedicated spaces where the talent pipeline can be facilitated in such a way that you receive a little bit of a support when it comes to setting up those partnerships. But that even makes me wonder whether a strategic partnership is something that everyone should be striving for, because there are some collaborations that could just be focusing on the smaller elements.

Just like you said, it is impossible to reach something just overnight. But maybe, just to also address some of the universities that are looking to strengthen ties with industry, what do you think they should be doing, with special focus on this education or talent element?

Are there any sort of already proven tips that you would give to your university partners, or even working with UNITECH partners as well?

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

And even beyond UNITECH. Universities have their strengths in the academic education, and it is excellent in many academic places and institutions. Where we can support, or maybe help or add value, is the industrial or the practical element, adding to the theoretical education at the university, which is excellent.

We can add really practical exposure. We can add, for example, guest lecturers who really tell the students, “Okay, that is what you have learned in theory. We apply it in our daily business for these kinds of products and applications or technologies”.

We can, for example, invite students to our premises and give expert talks, we can show them our labs, and show them how we drive digitalisation and decarbonisation, how this is directly linked and connected to their studies. We can give this, I would say, industrial feedback to the students.

And very often that can be also a great motivation, because all the theoretical lectures and subjects and so on are important, and it is of course the foundation, but sometimes it is difficult really for the students, and they wonder why they have to learn that. We come from the other side, and we can say, “This is the rocket which goes to the moon, that is why you are learning this formula”, or “This is the renewable energy system”, or “This is the automotive autonomous driving system where we need this knowledge”.

I think this is very important to motivate young students, to show them they have chosen the right study program and that they see that at the end of their  academic journey, there is a professional career which offers a lot of opportunities, and they can really have an impact with their studies on, for example, avoiding climate change or fostering digitalisation.

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

That is very interesting, because I think it also translates back to the general trend of changing skills needs. So maybe we can also talk a little bit about how we can get the right skills, because now we talked about the students and the talent that joins Infineon after they have graduated, or also during their training, as they are joining for the internships.

But maybe you can also tell us a little bit about how, for example, Infineon goes about this upskilling and reskilling game that is also quite crucial at this age of rapid technological development. Maybe there are some examples that you can share through collaboration.

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

This is very important. Re and upskilling is a constant challenge, but also a necessity. When a student graduates with a master, then it is fine for that year, but five years later, maybe he or she has to learn new things again, and we know about this.

Of course, I think universities can also play a very important role in this reskilling and upskilling training, because also scientific reskilling and scientific upskilling is sometimes necessary. Sometimes, when I discuss with hiring managers, they tell me, “Okay, we are hiring for attitude, and we are training for skills”.

The attitude is more important, and also the readiness and the willingness to continuously learn on the professional journey. That is why sometimes it is not necessary that the candidate has a hundred percent of the skills for the job, but he or she has to have the right attitude.

We can then focus on upskilling and on training. It is not my field, I am not the Head of Talent Development, but at Infineon we have a comprehensive training landscape. We have academies, we have a bunch of training solutions: from LinkedIn learning to class learning offers.

And then, of course, this is something which we are constantly focusing on as well, in order to, again, develop the people further.

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

Being mindful of time, maybe I can go to my next and last question. We always like to ask a question that is a little bit more forward looking. So, looking ahead, how do you see the landscape of university-industry interaction, collaboration, and engagement partnerships changing in the next, say five to ten years?

We already talked a lot about the technological development and how we need to be on time with all of those changes as well, so maybe you can talk a little bit more about that.

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

To my understanding and to my opinion, the landscape will get even more richer, I would say, and more diverse, which leads to a comprehensive ecosystem approach. It is not only bilateral agreements or collaborations, but also ecosystem collaboration, it is multilateral collaborations. It is not only one, but more universities, and maybe other stakeholders involved. This is becoming more and more important.

On the other hand, what we also see when we look into the collaborations is that there is a trend into having, I would say, memorandums of understandings, general agreements with a more strategic focus.

They are not going into the detail, but there is a strategic focus and there is a strategic commitment from both sides for collaboration. And then, later on in the details, we will see what we will really do together precisely. But this multilateral ecosystem and also a more strategic long-term approach is how I expect the overall university relations arena evolving.

Balzhan Orazbayeva:

Thank you so much. I am quite excited to see where this journey will take us next, as well as observing those trends together. I really appreciate the conversation that we have had today. Thank you so much, Rainer, and thanks so much everyone for joining.

Rainer Schmidt-Rudloff:

Thank you very much for having me. It was my pleasure.

Ready for more?

Want to know how education partnerships work from the other side? In our episode, Student-driven deep tech innovation at Eindhoven University of Technology, we spoke with Bart van Grevenhof from Eindhoven University of Technology about fostering innovation through deep tech projects, the challenges students face in taking these technologies to market, and the role of industry partnerships.

And our case study collection, Fostering talent through education partnerships, focuses on transformative universities-industry partnerships that are bridging theory and practice to future-proof the careers of students, and illustrate the power of collaboration in driving innovation and shaping the future.

Stay tuned for the next episode on this series and don’t forget to follow us on your preferred podcast platform!