Presentation of the new interuniversity master's degree in Semiconductor Engineering and Microelectronic Design
Starting in the 2024/25 academic year, the UAB, the UPC, the UB and the URV, with the strategic collaboration of the IMB-CNM-CSIC, will be offering a new interuniversity master's degree in Semiconductor Engineering and Microelectronic Design, aimed at training the next generation of professionals in this field. The master's degree, coordinated by the UPC, was presented at the headquarters of the Catalan Ministry of Business and Labour. The programme will be taught in English and pre-registration will open in the first semester of 2024.
On Thursday 4 April the headquarters of the Ministry for Business and Labour of the Government of Catalonia, in Barcelona, hosted the presentation of the new interuniversity master's degree in Semiconductor Engineering and Microelectronic Design.
The new degree was presented by the Minister of Business and Labour, Roger Torrent i Ramió, and the Minister of Research and Universities, Joaquim Nadal i Farreras, and included speeches by the head of studies of the master's degree and representative of the ETSETB-UPC, Antonio Rubio, the general manager of Cisco Spain & Portugal, Andreu Vilamitjana, and the co-founder and CTO of IMASENIC, Adrià Bofill. The presentation ceremony concluded with a round table with the participation of the rector of the UB, Joan Guàrdia; the rector of the UAB, Javier Lafuente; the rector of the UPC, Daniel Crespo; the rector of the URV, Josep Pallarès; and the secretary of Business and Competitiveness, Albert Castellanos Maduell.
The objective of creating this new interuniversity master's degree, which will be coordinated by the UPC, with the participation of the UB, the UAB and the URV and carried out with the collaboration of the IMB-CNM-CSIC, arises from the urgent need to train professionals in this field, following the recent chip crisis.
In addition, the passing of the European chip law by the European Parliament in 2022, known as the European Chips Act, highlights the need for investment in talent training and skills development in the field of semiconductors. According to the new law, the number of open vacancies for electronic engineers in Europe reaches the thousands. The need to invest in new technology lines and pan-European design platforms is also pointed out.
Semiconductor and microelectronics technology is a fundamental pillar in today's world, since it is the basis of electronic devices that make communication, computing, medicine and many other aspects of today's society possible. With the growing demand for highly qualified professionals in this field, the interuniversity master's degree in Semiconductor Engineering and Microelectronic Design has been designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the technological challenges of the future. Training in semiconductor manufacturing and design and microelectronics in the same master's degree is one of the programme's distinguishing features.
In the process of creating the master's degree, the five institutions promoting it have been in close contact with Fabcat, a group of microelectronics professionals and companies that, in recent years, have promoted Catalonia as a location for semiconductor factories and attracted productive investment.
A comprehensive programme, with a broad spectrum of knowledge
The programme covers a wide range of topics and offers two specialties. The Semiconductor Engineering specialisation will train students in the use of microelectronic chip technologies in different areas, such as clean room fabrication, encapsulation, characterisation and reliability analysis, as well as the physical understanding of phenomena occurring in current and emerging semiconductor devices. The Microelectronic Design specialty aims to train in the design of integrated, digital and analogue microelectronic circuits and systems in advanced technologies.
Advanced laboratories and internships
Students of the new master's programme will have access to laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art technology and will be able to participate in innovative research projects. One of these laboratories will be the Micro and Nanofabrication Clean Room of the IMB-CNM, a 1,500 square metre Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure (ICTS) on the UAB campus that will provide students with a unique opportunity to enter the world of microelectronic technologies from a more practical and applied perspective.
In addition, the programme will offer internship opportunities in technology companies in order to complete the training and promote the employability of students, while meeting the demands of the microelectronics industry.