Kioxia Group sees it as our responsibility as a good corporate citizen to not just leverage our business activities to address social issues, but to coexist in harmony with local communities. We aim to help realize a better society by leveraging our technology, products, services and expertise as well as the abilities of our employees; we engage in dialogue with local communities, governments and other public bodies, NPOs/NGOs, and academic organizations, to address community issues. We focus in particular on energizing local communities in the areas where we conduct business, and on fostering human resources in the fields of science and engineering.

At Kioxia Group, the Administration Division of each our group company and operational site oversees community engagement activities. We partner with local communities where we operate and engage in activities that are rooted in these area. We also encourage employee participation in social activities.

Kioxia Corporation has introduced a long-term leave system to make it easier for employees take part in community activities. They can use up to 25 days of accumulated leave for such purposes.

Kioxia Group sponsors opportunities for young people—the leaders of the future—to develop an interest in science, technology and manufacturing, as we believe it is important to support those aspiring to become outstanding scientists or engineers. In FY2022, our community science lectures and workshops were attended by some 2,200 students of all ages, from elementary school pupils to university undergraduates.

In August 2022, Kioxia Corporation took part in the Yokkaichi Science Seminar for Children at the Yokkaichi City Cultural Center, which was held with the aim of raising children’s interest in science.
In a seminar titled “Science Experience – Yokkaichi, a City of Monozukuri” (the art, science and craft of making things), the company delivered a presentation called “The Secrets of Flash Memory” for roughly 60 visitors. Explaining how semiconductor memories work, we gave a few quizzes about human memory. The excitement mounted as children enthusiastically answered the questions. They particularly enjoyed the virtual reality (VR) simulation of a cleanroom in a manufacturing facility. Many of them seemed genuinely curious, twisting their bodies here and there while wearing VR goggles.

Kioxia Iwate Corporation, the second manufacturing hub of the Kioxia Group to commence operations, has been sponsoring the Iwate Programming Education Project for elementary school students since 2020.

This project aims to promote the effectiveness of programming training through hands-on classes and programming contests, with the goal of nurturing and developing children's basic abilities to utilize information and their logical thinking skills.

As a manufacturing company, Kioxia Iwate Corporation hopes to encourage the free ideas and creativity that elementary school students can bring to the table.

As part of our efforts to promote women’s active participation in the workplace, since 2018 Kioxia Corporation has taken part in a Summer School for Girls in Junior and Senior High Schools, ² one of Japan’s largest events promoting science and engineering careers.

In 2022, we participated online in a “Poster and Career Consultation” event. Building on the concept of “The World is Filled with Memory,” we gave a presentation explaining how flash memory works and the many ways it is used in our daily lives. Our female engineers also spoke about their own careers.

The students asked questions related to academic and career paths such as, "I’m having trouble choosing an undergraduate school; what was the deciding factor in your choice of school?” and “How did you decide on a college or company?" and other questions related to higher education and careers. The female engineers gave advice regarding the participants' future academic and career paths, including statements such as “Expertise in technology is as valuable as job qualifications," and "If you go to a university's open campus or school festival, you may be able to visualize your student life there. That will motivate you to study harder.”

We will continue to give students the chance to experience the joy of science, engineering and manufacturing, supporting the development of future scientists and engineers.

Kioxia Iwate Corporation has been pursuing educational collaboration with Iwate University since 2019. In FY2022, the topics covered previously in public lectures were further developed, and lectures on semiconductors were held in multiple engineering departments. These lectures covered the history of the semiconductor industry as well as miniaturization technologies for logic devices and three-dimensional memory technologies, which are drivers of semiconductor technology.³ The number of students taking these lectures has been increasing year by year, and the sessions feature lively discussions and questions.

The company is planning to expand this initiative to other universities, kosen (colleges of technology) and high schools in the Tohoku region, to support the mutual development of industry and academia.

Kioxia Group hosts classes at graduate schools and other institutions in Japan to foster the development of young scientists and engineers.

Kioxia Corporation has had a Comprehensive Collaboration Agreement with the University of Electro-Communications since FY2019, under which engineers are fostered through personnel exchange, and we collaborate on various research activities. This initiative aims to promote semiconductor memory development and manufacturing technologies. In FY2021, one of our engineers conducted a lecture titled “Information Media System (Data Mining)” for approximately 100 master’s and PhD students at the University’s Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering. We also held a lecture titled “Semiconductor Memories—Supporting Society (Evolution of Nonvolatile Memories)” at Nagoya University and one titled "Doctorate Career Café: the Power of Doctorate Degrees in Society" at Doshisha University. In FY2022, we held 124 lectures at universities and graduate schools nationwide, which were attended by approximately 1,500 participants.

The Kioxia Group in Japan aims to continuously nurture talented engineers and help deploy them in society by dispatching our employees as lecturers to lectures and seminars hosted by the Semiconductor Division of the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA). In so doing, we aim to develop engineering as an academic discipline, and boost the semiconductor industry.

Since FY2020, Kioxia Corporation has participated in the “AI and the Advanced Programming Consortium (AIC)” series of events at Keio University Global Research Institute.

A workshop using AI technology titled "Addressing Combinatorial Optimization Problems in Semiconductor Manufacturing" was held in FY2022. The participants used familiar problems as themes and tackled these to find the best solution that met various conditions. After the workshop, the students toured the Yokkaichi Plant to see for themselves how AI technology is utilized in companies. A wide range of students participated, from undergraduates to those in doctorate programs; participants commented that the workshop provided them with a better understanding of AI technology and how companies apply it.

We provided a forum where participants could gain new experiences and interact with each other to learn how AI can solve problems and create new value.

Please see below for information regarding other local engagement activities of Kioxia Corporation’s Yokkaichi Plant and Kioxia Iwate Corporation

Kioxia Europe participated in B2Run, a charity running event that aims to support community engagement, employee health promotion, and teambuilding.

The B2Run vision is “A society united through sport and an awareness of health” and their mission is "Supporting long-term health, teambuilding and motivation in society by creating environments where people work together." The B2Run was held as a 6km race in Düsseldorf, Germany, with 514 companies participating and 11,500 people completing the course.

A highly motivated Kioxia Europe team of 14 employees took part. From the B2Run participation fees, the company also made a charitable donation of 5 euros per person to the German Bone Marrow Bank.

In 2018 Kioxia America established an internal organization called LeadHERs, whose goal is the education, enrichment and empowerment of women. LeadHERs also supports corporate community engagement events in partnership with Kioxia America's Community Relations team. 

In October 2022, LeadHERs volunteered to prepare and serve lunch in partnership with the Orangewood Foundation, which supports young adults who have come out of foster care. The Orangewood Foundation helps these young people in Orange County, California, become independent adults in the areas of health and wellness, housing, life skills, employment and education.

The Orangewood Foundation supports almost 2,000 young people every year. They can utilize the Orangewood facilities and programs for college and career counseling services; they also have access to resources that help them lead independent lives, including food and other supplies.

LeadHERs volunteers donated, prepared and served food at Orangewood’s kitchen, providing meals and fellowship to the Foundations 18-24-year-olds, who are transitioning to independent living.

Solid State Storage Technology Corporation (SSSTC) in Taiwan works with the “Baby Green Box Association” (BGBA), an NPO supporting children, to help ensure that children in foster homes have access to fresh vegetables and fruits. In Taiwan, more than 600 infants and toddlers are placed in foster homes each year after being separated from their birth families. Children in foster homes do not have enough of the fresh vegetables and fruits that are essential for their health and growth. In FY2022, SSSTC purchased and delivered NT$200,000 of vegetables and fruits to those foster homes across Taiwan. In addition, in the same year, 32 employees volunteered to engage this event for packing vegetables and fruits with the cooperation of BGBA.