PENANG, 29 April 2013 - Nineteen candidates graduated from the Master of Science (MSc) Electronic System Design Engineering (ESDE) programme which was initiated by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in collaboration with three electronic factories comprising Altera Corporation, Motorola Technology Sdn Bhd, and Agilent Technologies Microwave Products (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

Of the group of candidates, Loong Keng Fai from Agilent emerged as the Gold medal winner of the programme which was reviewed two years ago and having the participation extended to various companies.

“This programme exposes students to up-to-date theoretical and practical aspects of Electronic System Design as well as advanced engineering and their application,” said Prof Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman, USM Vice-Chancellor.

ESDE programme first started in 2010 as an 18-month Northern Corridor Analog and Digital Design (NCADD) collaborative initiative involving Northern Corridor Initiative Authority (NCIA), INTEL Penang and Usains Infotech Sdn Bhd (UISB).

“The objective was to train new engineers to be highly competent integrated circuit (IC) design engineers for the semiconductor industry and 13 engineers from this group have graduated to date,” said Omar.

Subsequently 50 trainees were registered as candidates for the MSc – Electrical and Electronics (E&E) Engineering via research while undergoing training under the Triple Helix collaboration which involves the Industry, the University and the Government.

UISB General Manager, Kalai Selvan, said that the critical mass of skilled R&D electronics engineers need to be increased, particularly in the area of IC design by improving the skill and the number of post graduate engineers for the E&E industry.

“According to the target of the Economic Transformation Programme, the E&E industry is to achieve RM90 billion in Gross National Income by 2020 and, during that process, provide an additional 157,000 jobs,” he said.

At the same event, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked between Usains  and Symmid Corp Sdn Bhd to collaborate further in its IC design and System on Chip (SoC), enabling ventures into the development of leading IC and SoC products and design projects.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed between Usains and MIMOS Bhd in which MIMOS will be a key partner to provide advanced Semiconductor Failure Analysis (FA) and Test Development services to UISB in their efforts to commercialise IC/SoC products. MIMOS will also provide semiconductor wafer fabrication and FA training courses while working with UISB’s training team and other academia to meet local industry requirements.

Among those attending are Chief Executive of NCIA, Dato’ Redza Rafiq Abdul Razak; USM Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman; USM Industry and Community Network Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dato’ Dr. See Ching Mey; Usains Group Managing Director, Dato’ Gan Ee Kiang; and representatives from Motorola (Penang), Intel Technology Sdn Bhd, Altera Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd, and Agilent Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd. -- Text: Yong Check Yoon