(VOVWORLD) - US giants Qorvo and Cadence are the next world-leading corporations to help Vietnam realize its training plan for 50,000 semiconductor engineers by launching an Analogue IC Design Course in Hanoi in the middle of July. Spearheaded by the National Innovation Centre (NIC), the initiative is expected to enhance the human resource capacity in semiconductor chip design - an area in which Vietnam is lacking skilled workers – and serve as a step towards Vietnamese mastery of semiconductor technology.
 The opening ceremony of the Qorvo-Cadence course on July 16, 2024, is attended by Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung. (Photo: NIC) |
40 outstanding trainees are undergoing a three-month intensive program at NIC's Hanoi campus that combines fundamental theories with practical aspects of integrated circuit design.
The trainees – lecturers and students from leading universities in Hanoi – receive scholarships worth 1,200 USD each to cover the cost of the training.
Trinh Khac Hue, General Director of Qorvo Vietnam Corporation, further explained, “The course focuses on practicing on Cadence design software, one of the top design tools in analog IC design. The program follows the design process used by Qorvo, a standard that all leading companies in the world in analog IC design are currently using. During the 12-week course, trainees are taught by Qorvo Vietnam’s experienced engineers how to use the software to create their own designs.”
The students can use the industry-standard Cadence Virtuoso software to gain a thorough understanding of semiconductor technology and analog microchip design, which generally involves more personalized focus into each circuit, and even the sizing and specifics of each transistor.
 Trinh Khac Hue (Harry Trinh), CEO of Qorvo Vietnam (Photo: NIC) |
Under the program, Qorvo provides senior lecturers and experts in microchip design, delivering training in line with US standards, while Cadence will supply comprehensive software licenses for semiconductor design.
Graduates will be offered internships and employment opportunities at Qorvo and partner firms. This recruitment is in line with Qorvo's and other major semiconductor firms' recent business expansion and increased investment trends in Vietnam, said General Director Hue.
“Of course, the first purpose of this training course is to create human resources for Qorvo itself,” Hue affirmed and added, “But it will also serve as a model of a training program any analog IC design business can replicate to develop generations of engineers who will have both basic theory and hands-on practice and will be able to participate in real projects after just a few months, significantly reducing training costs.”
Vietnam plans to invest 1 billion USD in training 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030, a strategic initiative implemented by NIC in collaboration with universities and foreign partners like Qorvo.
 Bob Bruggeworth, President and CEO of Qorvo Corporation (Photo: NIC) |
Bob Bruggeworth, President and CEO of Qorvo Corporation, said that Qorvo looks forward to participating in the engineering and training journey of Vietnam. “We will continue to work with the universities to create great engineers, both theoretical and practical, who will become engineers here in Vietnam to help Vietnam,” Bruggeworth said and expressed his belief that, “NIC, under the direction and guidance of the MPI, will be a great incubation hub for the semiconductor industry to grow here in Vietnam.”
To that end, Bruggeworth emphasized on three points: “One, talent and people must come first. Second, it's mission critical to achieve talent critical mass here in Vietnam to support our semiconductor industry. And third, Qorvo is very proud to be included in this mission that's so critical to Vietnam.”
Qorvo is a leading global supplier of semiconductor chips for power and connectivity solutions and has a component manufacturing facility in Vietnam. The company employs over 8,500 people worldwide, with revenues reaching 3.8 billion USD in the fiscal year 2024.
Meanwhile, Cadence is a leading EDA and Intelligent System Design provider delivering hardware, software, and IP for electronic design. It is providing IC design software tools and relevant training programs to universities in HCMC through the Cadence Academic Network.