AWC’s Dr. Reetika Dhawan highlights Arizona’s workforce vision at international semiconductor conference
October 2, 2025Yuma, Ariz. (October 2, 2025) – Arizona Western College’s Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of Workforce & Healthcare Programs, Dr. Reetika Dhawan, recently returned from a trade mission to Taiwan. On an invitation from the Arizona Commerce Authority, Dr. Dhawan attended SEMICON Taiwan 2025, one of the world’s most influential semiconductor trade shows, as a representative of the Arizona delegation.
“Our visit to TSMC underscored how technical excellence and workforce readiness go hand-in-hand,” Dr. Dhawan shared. “Taiwan’s model of aligning industry, academia, and government to prepare a semiconductor-ready workforce resonates deeply with Arizona’s efforts to scale STEM education, apprenticeships, and microcredentials to meet industry demand. Arizona is building similar pathways to ensure talent development keeps pace with innovation.”
Joining Dr. Dhawan at the conference were Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls and Yuma County District 2 Supervisor Jonathan Lines. The Yuma delegation emphasized the importance of cross-border collaboration, connecting Taiwan’s world-class manufacturing excellence, Japan’s strategic innovation agenda, and Arizona’s expanding semiconductor ecosystem to accelerate R&D, strengthen global supply chains, and create inclusive opportunities for underserved communities across the U.S.–Mexico border region.
In her representation of AWC’s innovative workforce pipeline, Dr. Dhawan highlighted the 12-week Fast Track Semiconductor Technician Bootcamp, stackable micro-credentials in mechatronics, contamination control, wafer handling, vacuum systems, and quality control, and its simulation-driven, agile training model that prepares workers for fab environments without the need for costly cleanrooms. AWC also emphasized its forward-looking initiatives in optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs), heterogeneous integration standards such as UCIe, and the emerging quantum computing workforce, ensuring students are trained not only for today’s semiconductor roles but also for frontier technologies.
“AWC is an economic development leader not only in our region but the larger state of Arizona,” said Dr. Daniel Corr, president of Arizona Western College. “When Dr. Dhawan was invited to join this trade mission to represent all that Arizona could offer potential new partners, she immediately sought to include her peers in leadership with various municipalities. These activities are force multipliers for the type of economic development and thriving communities we're trying to create, together. I could not be more proud of Dr. Dhawan's collaborative spirit and her vision.”
Through this engagement, AWC affirms its role as an innovative, globally connected community college, committed to advancing sustainability, resilience, and international cooperation in support of the semiconductor industry’s long-term growth.
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Contact:
Reetika Dhawan
Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of Workforce & Healthcare Programs
Arizona Western Entrepreneurial College
reetika.dhawan@azwestern.edu
(928) 344-7769