Taiwan's Economy
Hsinchu Science Park
How Taiwan built Hsinchu Science Park in 1980 near research institutes and universities, attracting returning engineers and creating a tech cluster.
Hsinchu Science Park opened in 1980.
Location
Near ITRI and top universities like National Tsing Hua and National Chiao Tung.
Design
- Infrastructure, tax incentives and simple approvals for tech firms.
- Housing and schools for engineers and families.
Returning talent
Many Taiwanese engineers working in Silicon Valley returned to Hsinchu, bringing skills and networks, a classic case of brain circulation.
Companies
TSMC, UMC, MediaTek and many others are based there.
Cluster effects
Suppliers, talent and knowledge concentrated in one area, creating agglomeration benefits.
Comparison with India
India’s tech parks in Bengaluru and elsewhere had similar goals, though India’s cluster focused more on software than hardware.
A Taiwanese engineer who worked at a US chip firm returns in the 1990s to join a startup in Hsinchu, bringing design expertise.
Hsinchu combined research institutes, talent and incentives.
- Hsinchu Science Park opened in 1980.
- It sits near ITRI and top universities.
- Returning engineers brought skills from Silicon Valley.
- It hosts TSMC, MediaTek and many others.
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