To resolve semiconductor crisis AICTE introduces courses in IC Manufacturing and VLSI Design Technology – Times of India

These courses will help the expansion of the semiconductor industry by teaching cutting-edge technology for production of microprocessors quality by reducing the space occupied by an electronic gadget by integrating hundreds of transistors into one microchip. Students pursuing these courses would get employment in IC Design companies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) tech domain and smartphone companies.

Speaking to Education Times, MP Poonia, vice-chairman, AICTE, says, “The courses have been approved to produce trained manpower in the field of semiconductors and display manufacturing which will be instrumental in making the country self-reliant in both these domains. Currently, India depends on the import of semiconductors and electronic hardware from countries like Taiwan and China. This is an emerging area and technically sound resources are in demand.”

The two courses are in tune with the demands of Industry 4.0. and the VLSI Design and Technology would be taught to Electronics and Communication Engineering students.

“Students would be taught 18 to 20 extra credits related to VLSI Design and Technology. A course on IC Fabrication is also being developed for the students of Polytechnic whose duration will be of three years and the secondary aim is to align the academic institutions with the industry,” adds Poonia.

Subjects like design, fabrication and knowledge related to the requirements of semiconductors will be taught as part of the two courses. These days there is a huge need for semiconductor chips in automobiles and both the courses would consist of electives and open electives.

As part of the course curricula, students would also have to do six months of internship in IC manufacturing units which will provide an industry exposure to students, adds Poonia.

Abhay Bansal, joint Head, Amity School of Engineering & Technology, Noida (UP), says, “We are going to start the BTech Programme in Electronics Engineering (VLSI Design and Technology) soon as per the directive of AICTE. The course curriculum has been designed in consultation with prominent academia and industry experts. Also, we will refer to the AICTE model curriculum once it is available and incorporate the same for best learning and academic delivery to the students.”

Post pursuing the course, in VLSI Design and Technology, students would be able to get employed as Design Engineer, Testing & Verification Engineer, Front-end designer – ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit Design)/FPGA(Field, Programmable Gate Arrays) and DFT (Design For Test) Engineer.