The majority of professionals in the VLSI and semiconductor industry are often trained in VLSI design or circuit design principles, and in their design practice, they consider semiconductor devices as a black box. These design practices, which require one to follow thousands of design rules, don’t involve a first principal understanding of semiconductor technology.
This gap originates from the undergraduate and postgraduate training given at the majority of places, which lacks rigorous training on micro and nanoelectronics and device as well as semiconductor technology principles. While the black box approach may have worked for several generations, given the way technology is advancing, it is going to be difficult for working professionals to survive in this industry without understanding the fundamentals of devices and semiconductor technologies and the principles of micro and nanoelectronics.
The other aspect is the push for semiconductor fabs and production around the world. There will be around fifty new fabs in the next 5 years, possibly even more, and each fab would require thousands of semiconductor professionals. This means there will be demand for over one lakh new professionals in the next five years who understand semiconductor technologies. To enable professionals to navigate this change, IISc, in association with TalentSprint, has launched this online programme, where aspirants can enhance their knowledge and build capabilities to thrive in the new semiconductor era.