The IC Design Committee was initiated in mid-2021, led by a group of leaders from leading product and manufacturing companies’, as well as representatives from the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL), supported by EDB and SSIA; with the objective to drive and sustain talent attraction and development initiatives for IC design sector in Singapore.
The committee focus on “2+1” Focus Areas, namely, talent attraction, talent development, and community.
Since the Electronics Industry Day 2022 in Q1 2022, the IC Design Committee have participated in multiple Career Talks on IC Design for most of the universities in Singapore, namely NUS, NTU, SUTD, SiT and TUM Asia. Themed: Semiconductor – Powering AI, Electrification and Metaverse, sharing with the undergraduates about Semiconductor industry – IC Design sector, focusing on the opportunity, the collaborative culture, and the bright prospect of IC Design.
Mr Eu Gene Goh, Senior Director, Design Engineering of AMD, and co-chair of IC Design Committee said: “To maintain a thriving IC design community in Singapore, the importance of a consistent pipeline of local talent cannot be understated. So it was very heartening that the industry, together with EDB, IHLs and under the leadership of SSIA came together as a team to look at ways to encourage even more of our young talents to take up IC design as a career. We’re in a renaissance for the semiconductor industry, which makes it the perfect time to capitalize on the high level of awareness and interest.”
This July, the IC Design Committee proudly brought to you the inaugural Summer Camp – IC Design Your Future. It is a 3-Days program, 20-22 July 2022, which gives the university undergraduates (Electrical, Electronics, Computing and Design Engineering) whom may be interested to join the IC Design sector in the near future, an opportunity to learn more about Semiconductor and Electronics industry, IC Design career prospect, visits to leading multi-national companies like AMD and GlobalFoundries; and most importantly, providing the opportunities to interact with various Semiconductor companies’ industry leaders and members to experience the vibrancy, focus and passion of this industry. This is in partnership with NTU, NUS and SUTD.
Prof Yeo Kiat Seng, Associate Provost, Research and International Relations of SUTD, and co-chair of IC Design Committee applauded the Committee’s efforts in inspiring, preparing and nurturing the next generation of STEM innovators. He added: “I believe in empowering our students, equipping them with the right skills to succeed globally and building a forward-thinking culture where learning is lifelong, innovation is prevalent and technology adoption is enabling. It is therefore no longer an option to keep doing things the old way; innovation and accepting change are now prerequisite for survival and success in a VUCA world.”
To address and accelerate talent development in terms of IC Design skills, the IC Design Committee come together in collaboration with the industry and IHL, to propose the Digital Design Finishing School Program. It is planned as a 3-6 months industrial hands-on training for young talents (fresh graduates) whom just join the industry / product companies as IC Designers. This finishing school program aims to impart the vocational skills required to execute the job independently in the shortest time possible.
Shantonu Bhadury, Director of Engineering, Silicon Labs commented: “It is imperative that we continue to improve the competitiveness of our workforce and bridge the gap between our academic learning and the vocational requirements of the semiconductor companies. The Digital Design Finishing School was born out from the needs of the thriving and demanding IC design sector in Singapore and to reduce the barrier of entry for all young talents in Singapore to embark on this fruitful, exciting, and dynamic career. This initiative demonstrates a long-term commitment of the industry, government and IHLs to invigorate the semiconductor industry, and especially IC Design sector in the coming years.”
Looking forward to more young talents joining the semiconductor industry, IC Design sector, designing and building new products that helps and continue to improve people’s daily life.
List of organisations participating in the IC Design Committee
Semiconductor Companies:
AMD
GlobalFoundries
Infineon
Marvell
Maxlinear
Mediatek
Nuvoton
Realtek
Silicon Labs
STMicroelectronics
Participating Universities:
NTU
NTU
SUTD
Supporting Partners:
EDB
SSIA
Contributed By:
IC Design Committee
