IC Summer Camp: A Gate to IC World

The 2017 IC Summer Camp was held by the NTU Graduate Institute of Electronic Engineering (GIEE) on August 17-18, 2017 at Barry Lam Hall. This summer camp mainly featured two keynote speeches, an introduction of the Integrated Circuits and Systems (ICS) group, and a company visit.

The research topics of the ICS group include integrated circuits and systems design for multimedia, communication, and biomedical applications. Electronics in digital, analog, mixed-signal, and radio-frequency circuits are covered as well. We currently have 18 labs, and each of them works on a variety of projects. Through this camp, we hope to show undergraduate students the trends of ICS research and industry. Held for the first time, the 2017 IC Camp drew numerous entries, and 60 out of the 90 applicants from 20 universities were admitted.

On the first morning, Director An-Yeu Wu (吳安宇) of GIEE opened the event with welcome remarks. Afterwards, Dr. Bor-Sung Liang (梁伯嵩) of MediaTek and Dr. Jen-Wei Liang (梁仁尉) of Novatek gave keynote speeches. In the speech, Dr. Bor-Sung Liang encouraged students to study hard while they can, because they will have little time to study and read extensively after graduation. He likened knowledge to a pyramid, stressing both its breadth and depth. He also added that attaining a breadth of knowledge will accelerate knowledge accumulation. Dr. Jen-Wei Liang shared his experience of studying abroad. He remembered seeing numerous successful innovation and entrepreneurship cases abroad, and hoped to bring this trend and initiative back to Taiwan. The keynote speeches inspired students who were still focusing on school work, and evoked their interest in the industry of IC design.

On the first afternoon, Prof. Tzi-Dar Chiueh (闕志達) gave a short introduction about the development of IC technology in simple language. Prof. Chia-Hsiang Yang (楊家驤) and Prof. Tsung-Hsien Lin (林宗賢) introduced ICS professors’ research areas and their latest research outcomes. After that, the students visited booths set by ICS labs at Barry Lam Hall. This lab tour gave the students a chance to interact with current graduate students and to get the firsthand information about the ongoing projects of each lab.

In the evening of the first day, we invited six outstanding alumni to share their work experiences with students. They talked about their research life at GIEE and their life in industry. This session was arranged for students to make early career plans through interacting with the ICS alumni.

On the second day, students visited ALi Corporation in the morning. Daniel Huang (黃學偉), CEO of ALi Corporation, encouraged students to devote themselves to an area that nobody would like to choose, as rare areas might be highly valued and people with rare expertise are less likely to be replaced. Afterwards, several young engineers gave an overview of jobs related to analog circuits and digital circuits, and demonstrated their products in interesting scenarios. Later that day, the visit to ALi Corporation was an eye-opener to the students. The internal tour at ALi introduced the students to the company’s departments and work environment, including measurement labs and recreation facilities. This company visit helped the students broaden their view, and allowed them to have a glimpse into the life of working in the IC industry.

A face-to-face panel and Q&A session was held on the second afternoon. Several professors from the ICS group, including the GIEE Director Prof. An-Yeu Wu, Prof. Tzi-Dar Chiueh, Prof. Chung-Ping Chen (陳中平), Prof. Hsin-Shu Chen (陳信樹), Prof. Yi-Chang Lu (盧奕璋), Prof. Chia-Hsiang Yang, and Prof. Tsung-Te Liu (劉宗德), were invited to share their experiences. After the panel session, an alumnus Tio Wang (王信中) from Sitronix also came to share his experience in industry with the students. In their feedback, the students expressed that they had benefited greatly from this two-day camp.

At the closing ceremony, the students received certificates for participating in all the activities in the summer camp. We believe that, by attending this camp, all the students have acquired a deeper and broader understanding of both the ICS group of NTU GIEE and the IC industry.

(Source: NTU Graduate Institute of Electronic Engineering)