Amid shortage of professionals, chipmakers ramp up campus engagement

Companies such as Intel India, AMD, Applied Materials India, and Tessolve are collaborating with students and staff on practical projects and setting up labs at institutions such as IIT-Bombay

Amid shortage of skilled professionals, the Indian semiconductor companies are intensifying their efforts to engage with campuses and cultivate new talent.

Companies such as Intel India, AMD, Applied Materials, and Tessolve are collaborating with students and staff on practical projects. These firms are setting up labs at institutions such as IIT-Bombay, fostering partnerships between industry and academia to advance research in core design and AI training, and sponsoring students in research initiatives, according to a report by The Economic Times.

AMD India Pvt Ltd initiated a summer scholar programme last month for engineering graduates. As many as 14 students from prestigious institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science, IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur, and IIT Delhi are currently participating in the residency programme.

The news report quoted Fathima Farouk, HR head at AMD India, as saying, “We also have several of our senior engineers working closely with a team of professors and researchers at IISc, Bengaluru to study heterogeneous computing, including in the areas of core design, AI training, inference, and compilation. We sponsor students pursuing research in areas like low power designs, machine learning-based design optimisations, pruning and quantisation for ML models.”

According to a report by the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association, the country’s semiconductor sector is expected to more than double to $64 billion between 2021 and 2026.

Intel India is investing in early talent by focusing on the development of college graduates. Vijay Colaco, HR Director at Intel India, said that the company’s hiring strategy includes onboarding 35-40 per cent college graduates, actively fostering innovation and research by offering resources, facilities, and opportunities to students and professors.

Under the company’s ‘Unnati’ programme, 250 data-centric labs have been established in Tier-II and Tier-III colleges, aimed at driving research and fostering innovation.

University collaborations

Another player in India’s semiconductor space, Applied Materials India, has also formed a university council to enhance collaborations with universities, aiming to build talent pipelines in emerging fields such as process engineering, mechatronics, supply chain engineering, and electrical engineering, the report said.

The company has also set up two labs at IIT-Bombay focusing on nanoelectronics, chemistry, and materials sciences.

The report quoted Suraj Rengarajan, managing director (MD) at Applied Materials India, as saying, “We have also launched a semiconductor certification course in collaboration with IIT-Bombay — a step towards enabling the talent ecosystem for the semiconductor industry in India.”

Gender gap

Companies are also aiming to reduce the gender disparity in the industry by nurturing female talent during their college years.

Intel collaborates with women’s engineering colleges to provide internship opportunities, conducts programmes to promote inclusive hiring practices, and offers mentorship opportunities for students, the report said.

Applied Materials also sponsors events focused on women, such as the Society of Women Engineers, to enhance the presence of women in hardware engineering. Additionally, it engages with exclusively women’s colleges and universities.