Create the conditions for Sustainable Innovation

Partnerships with the academic community | STE3 | STS44 |
	2005	2006
Partnerships with universities, colleges, schools	217	236

 

R&D expenditures | STE4 |			US$m
	2004	2005	2006
Expenditures	1,532	1,630	1,668

 

R&D headcount evolution | STE5* |
	2004	2005	2006
Overall R&D headcount	9,800	9,700	10,300
R&D engineers and technicians	6,003	6,570	7,195

 

R&D headcount by region | STE5* |
	Europe	Americas	Asia-Pacific	Others	Total
Employees	4,857	352	1,730	256	7,195

 

ST patent applications filed by region | STE6 |
	2004	2005	2006
Italy	239	253	212
France	245	310	233
Rest of Europe	75	69	59
Americas	69	39	41
Asia-Pacific	86	49	62
Total	714	720	607

 

R&D, critical to our success

We believe that Research and Development (R&D) is critical to our success, and we are committed to continue investing in R&D in the future. The main R&D challenge we face is to continually increase the functionality, speed and cost-effectiveness of our semiconductor devices, while ensuring that technological developments translate into profitable commercial products as quickly as possible.

Our policy in the field of R&D is market driven and is focused on leading-edge products and technologies in close collaboration with strategic alliances partners, leading universities and research institutes, key customers and global equipment manufacturers working at the cutting edge of their own markets.

We also participate in joint European research programs, such as the MEDEA + and ITEA programs, and cooperate on a global basis with major research institutions and universities.

For details on publicly-funded research programs, also read our 20-F report (pages 44, 45).

Our two major technology centers are Crolles2 Alliance, France, and Agrate, Italy. Other advanced R&D centers include Catania and Castelletto in Italy; Grenoble (1), Tours and Rousset in France; Phoenix, Carrollton and San Diego in the USA; Ottawa in Canada; Bristol and Edinburgh in the UK; Bangalore and Noida (2) in India; Beijing (3), Shenzhen and Shanghai in China; Rabat in Morocco (4); and Geneva in Switzerland.

1) The Grenoble-based Innovation and Systems Integration Center has been expanded with new facilities inaugurated in December 2006, covering a total area of 13,000 square meters, designed to accommodate 600 employees. This extension confirms ST’s ongoing commitment to the Grenoble community ever since it first established a presence there in the early 1970s.

2) Our Noida activities have been transferred to a new facility located in Greater Noida. The new building, inaugurated in February 2006 on a 100,000 square meter area, is ST’s largest design center outside Europe. The current capacity is 1,800 people, including a 750-seat cafeteria, health center, bank, etc. When completely finished, it will have a capacity for 5,000 employees.

3) In September 2006, ST announced the signing of cooperation agreements with Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT) and Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU) to establish a microcontroller laboratory on each university campus, to train electronic engineering students to develop embedded application technologies. Approximately 1,000 students are expected to be trained in each university each year.

4) The new building for our Design Center in Rabat was inaugurated in June 2006 by His Majesty the King of Morocco Mohammed VI; the Center today is home to around 170 people; the 16,000 square meter building contains 7,000sqm of office space, 300sqm of laboratory, a 250sqm computer room, an amphitheater and a restaurant.