UD-UTE: Closing Ceremony of the Basic VLSI Design Training Course on FPGA Technology

On July 3, 2024, the University of Danang – University of Technology and Education (UD-UTE) in collaboration with the National Innovation Center (NIC), The Asia Foundation, and Acronics Solutions Co., Ltd. organized the closing ceremony of the Basic VLSI Design Training Course on FPGA Technology (Front-End).

Attending the ceremony were: Mr. Đỗ Tiến Thịnh – Deputy Director, and Ms. Lê Minh Anh – Head of the Business Support Department, National Innovation Center; Mr. Fillip Graovac – Deputy Head of Representative Office, Ms. Lê Thu Hiền – Senior Program Manager, and Ms. Nguyễn Thu Hằng – Senior Specialist, The Asia Foundation; Mr. Lê Hoàng Phúc – Director of the Danang VLSI Research, Training, Design, and AI Center; Dr. Nguyễn Đức Quận – Deputy Head of the Training and Education Quality Assurance Department, University of Danang.

From the university's leadership, there were: Assoc. Prof. Phan Cao Thọ – Rector; Assoc. Prof. Nguyễn Lê Hùng – Vice Rector; representatives of the leadership from departments and faculties; along with the trainees of this course.

Speaking at the ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Phan Cao Thọ expressed his gratitude to the National Innovation Center, The Asia Foundation, and Acronics Solutions Co., Ltd. for their support and partnership in organizing this FPGA-based Basic VLSI Design Training Course. He emphasized that completing the training course was an important first step in the university's ongoing mission to train human resources in VLSI design.

Mr. Lê Hoàng Phúc evaluated that this training course is a practical and useful model that the city of Da Nang can consider expanding in the near future. Additionally, Mr. Lê Hoàng Phúc mentioned that Da Nang has three policies to support the semiconductor chip design industry, including: providing loan support, scholarships for students; attracting experts to train lecturers and trainees; and offering infrastructure support. These are very positive signals for the development of the semiconductor chip industry in the city.

The Basic VLSI Design Training Course on FPGA Technology lasted over 3 months (from March 8 to June 20, 2024) with 35 sessions, involving 30 trainees who were lecturers and senior students from universities in Da Nang city, including: University of Danang – University of Techonogy and Education; University of Information Technology and Communication Viet – Korea; University of Danang – University of Science and Technology; Duy Tan University; Dong A University...

At the ceremony, Mr. Nguyễn Trọng Tuấn, a lecturer of the training course, presented the summary report on the teaching and learning process of the course. Along with the basic theoretical lessons, the trainees also had hands-on experience on modern boards provided by Acronics Solutions Co., Ltd. The trainees were trained in VLSI design based on FPGA technology and integrated product development. By the end of the course, the trainees had gained the ability and skills to analyze basic algorithms, implement them into hardware models, and use Verilog/VHDL language to develop specific VLSI on FPGA. Additionally, the trainees were equipped with methods to analyze, architect, and implement more complex algorithms into real VLSI, meeting the recruitment needs of organizations and companies, as well as retraining for students.

At the ceremony, 26 trainees were awarded certificates of completion, and 4 trainees were recognized: Nguyễn Linh Nam – the trainee who contributed the most to the course; Phan Ngọc Kỳ and Phan Thị Lan Anh – the lecturers with the best results; and Huỳnh Văn Thôi – the student with the best academic performance.

The ceremony was an opportunity to summarize and evaluate the training efforts of this course, laying the foundation for research and the development of enrollment plans for future courses. It also contributes to meeting the urgent demand for human resources in teaching and working in the field of VLSI design both domestically and regionally.