Microsemi Announces Engineering Scholarship Program with University of Limerick and Launches New "Microsemi Women in Engineering" Award

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. and ENNIS, Ireland, Aug. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, today announced it is renewing its current 50,000 euros scholarship program for University of Limerick engineering students living in County Clare, where the company has its European headquarters in Ennis, Ireland. In addition, the company announced its new "Microsemi Women in Engineering" scholarship and first award recipient.

Microsemi initially launched its 50,000 euros scholarship program with the University of Limerick in August 2012 as part of the company's 20 year anniversary of operations in Ireland. Scholarships are awarded to a first-year engineering student from County Clare to the value of 3,000 euros per academic year, or 12,000 euros per student. The original 50,000 euros were awarded to a student for each of the four academic years (2012/2013, 2013/2014, 2014/2015 and 2015/2016), and now the company will grant the same scholarships to four new engineering students each December for four years beginning December 2016. Winners are selected objectively via the students' scores on the Leaving Certificate, a national examination students complete at the end of secondary school.

"We are pleased to announce the continuation of our 50,000 euros scholarship program, as this introduces our company to some of the brightest talent in the region while supporting their academic achievements in engineering," said Jim Aralis, chief technology officer and vice president of advanced development at Microsemi. "Leveraging our longstanding relationship with the University of Limerick, engineering students are exposed to internships, hands-on education and coursework which are extremely relevant to Microsemi's business, products and technologies. Our scholarship program is both an investment in the future of our company and the success of our Clare community's most deserving youth."

In conjunction with the new 50,000 euros scholarship program, the company also announced its new "Microsemi Women in Engineering" scholarship, a one-time 2,000 euros award which will be presented to Eimear O'Sullivan in late August 2016. O'Sullivan will graduate from the University of Limerick with a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronic and Computer Engineering degree, with a First Class Honours. Microsemi's new award is given to the highest performing graduating female student registered in the Bachelor of Engineering in Electronic and Computer Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering in Design and Manufacture, or Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering courses at the University of Limerick.

"Expanding our support for the specific achievements of our female students here in our community reflects Microsemi's ongoing commitment to diversity and to securing top talent for our company," said Siobhan Dolan Clancy, vice president and general manager of Microsemi's Discrete Products Group. "We congratulate Eimear for achieving such an impressive level of engineering education."

The University of Limerick and Microsemi have worked together for decades to ensure top-tier engineering resources are available to all students, offering real-world training and education to prepare them for in-demand technology careers. The four recipients of Microsemi's initial scholarships have each completed an internship or summer employment with Microsemi in one of its three Ireland facilities, reflecting the strong support system the institutions have developed together.

"The University is delighted with this new commitment from Microsemi, which not only rewards excellence in engineering generally, but also further strengthens the university's commitment to gender equality through its 'Women in Engineering' prize," said Professor Edmond Magner, dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Limerick.

In addition, Laurence Egan, the first recipient of the Microsemi Scholarship in 2012, has just been announced as a joint winner of the Gold Medal from the University of Limerick. The Gold Medal is awarded annually to an undergraduate student at the university graduating with the highest overall Quality Credit Average (QCA) result in his or her final year of study and signifies the highest level of academic achievement.

Microsemi: Committed to Ireland 
Microsemi established its presence in Ireland in 1992 through the acquisition of a facility in Ennis, Co. Clare and in 2012 the company named the Ennis facility as its European headquarters. Over the past several years, Microsemi has made a significant investment in its Ennis operations and now employs 270 people, making it one of the largest employers in the area. Microsemi's annual spend in Ireland is in excess of $20 million annually and it continues to recruit engineers and other technical professionals.

The Ennis facility's key competencies are the development, manufacturing and high reliability testing of semiconductors to meet stringent aerospace, satellite, medical and security standards and it is now one of the largest such facilities globally. Microsemi also has a design group in Dublin which is focused on advanced system-on-chip (SoC) software and solutions with an emphasis on ARM processor-centric designs, and a group in Cork who is specialized in the development of highly efficient and scalable embedded hardware and software for real-time Ethernet operations.

In February, Microsemi announced the opening of its Aviation Centre of Excellence in Ennis, a 1,900 square-foot facility to support the design, development and manufacturing of its new product line of high reliability aviation intelligent power solutions (IPS). As yet another example of Microsemi's investment in research and development in Ireland, the Aviation Centre of Excellence enables the company to offer a complete solution for high reliability aviation intelligent power solutions from design to manufacturing.

About Microsemi 
Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system solutions for aerospace & defense, communications, data center and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the world's standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; enterprise storage and communication solutions, security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Ethernet solutions; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, and has approximately 4,800 employees globally. Learn more at www.microsemi.com.

Microsemi and the Microsemi logo are registered trademarks or service marks of Microsemi Corporation and/or its affiliates. Third-party trademarks and service marks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Any statements set forth in this news release that are not entirely historical and factual in nature, including without limitation statements related to it renewing its current 50,000 euros scholarship program for University of Limerick engineering students living in County Clare, where the company has its European headquarters in Ennis, Ireland, and announcing its new "Microsemi Women in Engineering" scholarship and first award recipient, and its potential effects on future business, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, such factors as rapidly changing technology and product obsolescence, potential cost increases, variations in customer order preferences, weakness or competitive pricing environment of the marketplace, uncertain demand for and acceptance of the company's products, adverse circumstances in any of our end markets, results of in-process or planned development or marketing and promotional campaigns, difficulties foreseeing future demand, potential non-realization of expected orders or non-realization of backlog, product returns, product liability, and other potential unexpected business and economic conditions or adverse changes in current or expected industry conditions, difficulties and costs in implementing the company's acquisitions and divestitures strategy or integrating acquired companies, uncertainty as to the future profitability of acquired businesses and realization of accretion from acquisition transactions, difficulties and costs of protecting patents and other proprietary rights, inventory obsolescence and difficulties regarding customer qualification of products. In addition to these factors and any other factors mentioned elsewhere in this news release, the reader should refer as well to the factors, uncertainties or risks identified in the company's most recent Form 10-K and all subsequent Form 10-Q reports filed by Microsemi with the SEC. Additional risk factors may be identified from time to time in Microsemi's future filings. The forward-looking statements included in this release speak only as of the date hereof, and Microsemi does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

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