IESA launches the “Semiconductor Nation – Campus Connect” Initiative
New Delhi: Strengthening the career route for ECE and CE students in the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry, India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) is planning to launch a first-of-its-kind Semiconductor Nation – Campus Connect Initiative.
Dr. Pradip Thaker, Executive Council, IESA, said, “In 2021, the Indian Semiconductor market was at USD 27 billion. It is forecasted to reach USD 64 billion by 2026. Naturally, the sector is ripe with abundant opportunities for different stakeholders, including budding ECE and CE graduates. However, we must admit that compared to the IT sector, Semiconductor and Electronics Industry is relatively lower on the radar of modern-age students. This is why IESA plans to create awareness and share knowledge among the students. The Indian Semiconductor and Electronics Industry has the potential to lead the global market, and to do so, industry leaders will need to inspire, motivate, support and nurture talent of the country to be part of the journey and be industry-ready skills for existing and new emerging opportunities as nation moves from being a chip-taker to chip-maker.”
Recently the Indian Prime Minister indicated that the country has a golden window to not only be the technology talent destination but also a global talent source for the world including in the ESDM (Electronic System Design and Manufacturing) sector. To give amp up to this massive growth opportunity, IESA has laid the foundation for introducing several interventions, including the “Semiconductor Nation – Campus Initiative”.
Given that a majority of Engineering talent (ECE, CE, CS students) today are opting for IT careers, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry is facing a considerable challenge. In this context, IESA’s initiative is going to prove pivotal in attracting skilled talent and rerouting them towards the opportunities available in the Electronics and ESDM sector.
The initiative will be conducted in three phases: Create Awareness, Share Knowledge and Connect Industry. The platform built as part of this initiative will be accessible to all students and faculty across the nation in first of its kind massive industry outreach to campuses that teach ECE/CE/CS/Electronics disciplines as UG/PG major. In the first phase, the association plans to set up a separate LinkedIn page to give periodic information updates regarding the latest developments in the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry. Apart from this, a web page will be created as a self-learning platform. It will provide collated information on industry-readiness skill development content such as tech-talk, videos, PPTs and course material vetted by highly acclaimed universities and professionals. In addition, the association will be leveraging government-sponsored TV advertisements to reach out to maximum students as well as their parents as a societal influencing factor to educate emergence of great opportunities over a next decade as India fulfils its destiny for being an end-to-end chip-maker, from R & D to manufacturing in ESDM sector.
Under the second, Share Knowledge phase, the association will conduct an industry speaker series either live or in recorded format. Other than that, IESA-certified interns will have an opportunity to gain experience in CSR-driven sponsored programs. There will also be a skill development sponsorship of free CAD tools to universities. The last phase will include Industry sponsored fellowships to eligible students. They’ll be able to attend industry events such as Vision Summit and Semicon-India. This is intended to create a tight cross-connect between 300+ industry entities and 2000+ colleges. The end goal of this initiative is to measurably increase the uptake of ECE and CE students for Semiconductor and Electronics Industry careers over four years.