Tampere University is educating future System-on-Chip experts for the microelectronics industry through the new course, Chip Implementation.
As part of European Edu4Chip project, two new courses were launched at Tampere University in 2025. In SoC Design, students design their own subsystem, and in Chip Implementation, they place it on silicon, ready for fabrication. A third course on chip testing will follow once the first student-designed chip has been received from the foundry.
The first round of the Chip Implementation has been popular, attracting as many as 40 students participating in it. Most participants are in the final phase of their studies, and the course is designed to prepare them for careers in the industry.
The core content focuses on ASIC synthesis and physical design, standard cell technologies and libraries and learning to use ASIC sign-off tools. During the course, students gain hands-on experience in creating a real chip using modern tools.
“All the course materials have been developed from scratch with the goal of inspiring students to pursue this challenging yet rewarding career, making chip design education engaging, and lowering the entry barrier for new students”, says Mohsin Abbas, the responsible teacher of the course and a tenure-track professor.
After completing the course, the student can perform the tape-out for a simple chip. They understand the contents of standard cell libraries, know the challenges in ASIC backend flow and can use modern tools. The course covers every key aspect of the RTL-2-GDSII flow, including STA, logical synthesis, CTS, floorplanning, placement, routing, IO design and packaging.
The course includes exercises where students go through the complete chip design flow.
“One of the learning objectives is to understand the challenges in the ASIC backend flow and figure out how to solve them. Students gain this knowledge through hands-on exercises, working on an existing project that presents a relevant problem to solve”, explains university instructor Arto Oinonen.
Previously, Tampere University offered a comprehensive set of chip design courses, but the backend was not covered in depth. This gap has now been filled with the Chip Implementation course.
“Backend skills are in high demand in the industry. Later, we will also offer this course through open university, enabling experts from companies to participate and expand their knowledge.”
