CHENNAI: As part of efforts to future-proof engineering education, Anna University through its Centre for Academic Courses (CAC) has announced a series of ‘Train-the-Trainer’ programmes that will upskill faculty members in affiliated colleges to “bring industry practices directly into classrooms”.

The university expects a wave of proposals seeking introduction of specialised courses in chip design, VLSI, EV systems and related domains. This comes on the back of a significant expansion in engineering education last year, when the total sanctioned intake rose from around 1.80 lakh to over 2.02 lakh seats. Notably, over 1,100 additional seats were added in electronics and allied streams closely linked to semiconductor technologies.

To ensure teaching quality keeps pace with this growth, the university developed the ‘Train-the-Trainer’ programmes.

One such programme, ‘RTL to GDS II VLSI Design Flow Using Open Source EDA Tools’ will be held from May 25 to May 30 at the College of Engineering, Guindy campus. It will provide hands-on training in the complete chip design cycle -- from RTL design and synthesis to GDS II generation using tools such as OpenROAD and Magic.

“Faculty members must be trained in end-to-end design methodologies to effectively prepare students for semiconductor careers,” a university official said. “These programmes are designed to bring industry practices directly into classrooms,” the official added.

A second programme, scheduled from June 8 to June 13, will focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in electric vehicle (EV) technology. Industry experts will serve as keynote speakers and resource persons for both programmes, with sessions combining theory and hands-on exposure.

This story has been written by Binita Jaiswal.