An Approach of Project-Based Learning: Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry Needs in Teaching Integrated Circuit Design Course

In teaching an integrated circuit (IC) design course, many benefits can be gained by offering an industry-relevant project associated with a training to a bundle of electronic design automation (EDA) tools and design methodologies. However, few open-source projects were able to cover the key qualifications needed by industry. Therefore, this article proposes an approach of project-based learning (PBL), aiming at bridging the gap between the industry needs and the learning outcomes from academia. Specifically, this article first conducts an investigation on basic qualifications necessary for entry-level IC designers. By summarizing those results as a specification, the development, implementation, and assessment to an open source project is presented to include the latest EDA tools and methodologies needed by IC design companies, as well as the fundamental knowledge and skills of the course outcomes. The effectiveness of this work is evaluated by the analysis of students' final exam results using "t"-tests. It shows that students who had participated in the project achieved higher levels of acquired knowledge to the design on ICs. Student survey and evaluation also demonstrate positive effect on student achievement with the PBL approach. Further, the public availability of this project has a big potential to offer a framework to practical courses and improve students' knowledge and skills in many topics, such as computer architecture and micro-systems.