Motivation

Microelectronics is nowadays and will remain in the foreseeable future the crucial enabling technology in the development of the information society and the strategic sector of the industry for maintaining the competitiveness of the European economy. As a result of rapid increase of the number and complexity of the microelectronic systems necessary for new innovative products, the demand for highly skilled microelectronic designers is quickly growing. Unfortunately, the supply of microelectronic designers and researchers is far below the demand. Critical shortage of electronic engineers skilled in design of microelectronic circuits and systems is observed all over Europe, and has become a concern of primary importance for the industry.

The demand for innovative microelectronic designs increases also in Central/Eastern Europe. Poland can serve as an example. Five types of institutions interested in microelectronic design and looking for microelectronic designers in Poland were identified:

• local enterprises (including SMEs)
• academic and research institutions in Poland and abroad
• enterprises (small and big) established in Poland but owned by foreign companies
• foreign companies (also SMEs) looking for possibilities to subcontract an ASIC design in Poland
• big international semiconductor manufacturers

Local enterprises design and manufacture various electronic equipment mainly for the Polish market. Examples include medical equipment, security and access control equipment, secure data transmission and storage etc. Academic and research institutions are mainly interested in ASICs for electronic equipment built for research experiments. Examples include ASICs designed for international projects at CERN, Geneve or for the European Space Agency. Some local enterprises owned by foreign companies also run their own engineering offices and need microelectronic products designed for their specific needs. Big international semiconductor manufacturers are also actively seeking microelectronic designers in Poland, but in most cases these companies offer temporary or permanent employment outside Poland.

However, the situation varies from country to country. Therefore one of the first actions in the project will be analysis of the situation and needs of the enterprises in Central/Eastern European countries, in order to gain a more complete picture.

Despite difficulties, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe managed to maintain their intellectual potential in education and research in the field of microelectronic design. However, this potential is currently underutilised. To exploit this potential, the existing links with EU research institutions and industry must be strengthened and establishing of new links is highly desirable. Links of academic institutions with local enterprises should also be strengthened. To avoid excessive "brain draining", which can be damaging to education and local economies of Central and Eastern European countries, contacts with big European semiconductor manufacturers should go beyond mere "head hunting". Actions aimed at promotion of co-operation of the European industry with partners from Central/Eastern Europe will help to extend the European knowledge base and minimise the consequences of insufficient human potential in the field of microelectronic design.

The future of microelectronic design in Europe, including Central/Eastern Europe, depends also on the quantity and quality of candidates for related studies at universities. Unfortunately, it is observed all over Europe that interest in science and technology among schoolchildren and high school students dropped dramatically. Careers in business, management, law etc. are considered more attractive. Therefore it is important to demonstrate to the European youth the beauty of engineering profession and in particular to raise interest in technical studies devoted to electronic engineering, including microelectronic design.

Objectives

For development of successful co-operation the following conditions must be met:

• The level of competencies and skills of researchers from Central/Eastern Europe must be high enough to allow participation in advanced and challenging research projects targeted at solving the problems faced by European electronic industry.
• State-of-the-art research infrastructure must be available and maintained in Central/Eastern Europe.
• The potential research partners from EU countries must be aware of competencies and achievements of their colleagues from Central/Eastern Europe.
• In the case of participation of SMEs, additional condition is their awareness of the IST programme and ability to absorb new technologies.

Therefore, the main objectives of the project are as follows.

• Raising the level of awareness of industrial problems and the level of competencies among researchers in Central/Eastern Europe in order to facilitate research co-operation with the European research institutions and industry. Special attention will be paid to methodologies of system-on-chip design and test (including low power VLSI circuits, design reuse and IP-based design) as well as methodologies of analogue and mixed signal IC design for wireless communication applications (such as RF CMOS circuits), networking, and multimedia.
• Strengthening of personal and institutional links between academic and industrial partners, both in EU countries and in the countries of Central/Eastern Europe, in order to facilitate formulation of new RTD projects and formation of project consortia. These objectives can be achieved by training courses, "hands-on" training and workshops organised with participation of advisors and/or trainers from the industry, and from the academic and research institutions from EU member states which have experience in industrially oriented research or training and good links with the industry.
• Knowledge transfer to the SMEs in Central/Eastern Europe and raising the level of awareness of the IST programme, in order to facilitate participation of SMEs in RTD and other projects of FP5. This objective can be achieved by action aimed at identification of enterprises interested (at least potentially) in microelectronic design, by promotional and information actions, intensive courses and by distance learning, i.e. information and training materials available over Internet.
• Raising the interest in science and technology and in particular in microelectronics among high school students in order to ensure adequate supply of good candidates for university studies and in this way to maintain the social knowledge base in the field of microelectronics.