Playing a key role in making valuable business connections

The National Microelectronics Institute

Playing a key role in making valuable business connections

The National Microelectronics Institute (NMI), headquartered in Scotland, is a not-for profit trade association that represents the semiconductor industry in the UK and Ireland. Membership spans the whole supply chain, and includes fabless semiconductor companies, intellectual property providers, integrated manufacturers, service suppliers and academia. NMI’s mission is to build and support a strong semiconductor community and act as the catalyst and facilitator for commercial and technological development, not just in the UK but world wide.

In 2007, the association launched the NMI Outreach Programme to help UK companies make their profile more visible internationally. This was followed by pilot visits to Japan and California, aimed at promoting the UK’s competence in terms of innovation and electronics and setting up links for future trade missions. Good contacts were made with industrial, commercial and academic institutions. A reciprocal visit early in 2008 enabled NMI to showcase British innovation in electronics to a group of visitors from Japan, helping to build and strengthen the links between these two countries.

NMI had enjoyed a long association with the GlobalScot Network and was invited to attend a one-day event organised by Scottish Enterprise later in the same year. At this event, Dr Eiji Nagasawa, a GlobalScot member since 2003, was introduced to various Scottish businesses and members of trade bodies, including Paul Jarvie from NMI. Dr Nagasawa was General Manager of NEC Semiconductor UK from 1990 to 1997 and has an intimate knowledge of the semiconductor industry.

Dr Nagasawa is strongly committed to the GlobalScot Network.

"I want to make some contribution to Scotland because I have enjoyed an association with this nation for more than twenty years. I intend to use my experience in the semiconductor industry to contribute to Scotland’s economy, helping companies to grow, succeed and expand their business in Asia.’"



Dr Nagasawa was able to offer NMI immediate access to a wide range of valuable networking opportunities, providing links to companies both in Japan and throughout Europe, as well as bringing new speakers, new companies and new contacts to the UK networks. This could take the form of bringing in an expert from Germany or elsewhere to speak at an NMI networking event or providing a contact with a company keen to become involved with UK technology.

Paul Jarvie is hoping to use Dr Nagasawa’s connections to source some world-class speakers from Japan and Taiwan for an International Conference on Advanced CMOS Technology in May 2009. He also describes him as a key contributor to the Outreach Programme, able to help NMI connect up to some of the bigger corporate names in Japan and supporting them in the scoping and planning of a trade mission there

"The GlobalScot connection can potentially deliver great value both to NMI and to NMI’s members. Nagasawa-san acts as a connector and is enormously valuable. As we start to execute some of the suggestions and links he has given us, we will start to realise their benefits. We see his great potential and we absolutely welcome that."