In the last year, the Backend course was opened, in which the students design a real modern processor in its entirety in the RISC-V architecture and download it for production: literally “from code to silicon”
Intel announced Dr. Amir Kapua from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the Hebrew University as the winner of the SYLLABOOST program and a grant worth 100,000 NIS. The program promotes, for the second year, the connection between industry and higher education and aims to integrate innovation in teaching, while adopting new learning technologies, to improve the study experience of the male and female students for meaningful learning and optimal preparation for the labor market, with an emphasis on the field of high tech.
As part of the study program for a graduate degree in electrical engineering and applied physics at the Hebrew University, the Backend course was launched last year, in which the students design a truly modern processor in its entirety in the RISC-V architecture and download it for production: literally “from code to silicon” – the technology front of The world of chip design.
Dr. Amir Kapua, faculty member in the Department of Applied Physics, He noted that: “The chip industry in Israel is booming with the opening of development centers of the tech giants. At the same time, there is a real plight of a shortage of engineers at all levels. As someone who leads the future generation, the study program in electrical engineering and applied physics is attentive to the needs of the market and we make sure to provide our students with the most recent content adapted to the skills and knowledge required at the end of the degree, since this is a complex field of practice in which the technologies are changing at a dizzying pace.” Kapua further adds: “In our proposal for the Syllaboost program, we sought to deepen the basics we impart to our graduates in the final and critical phase of chip design – the backend phase, just before the chip is sent to the advanced production lines.”
Thanks to the backing of the Hebrew University administration for the new program, led by the university’s CEO, Mr. Yishai Frankel, a perfect replica of an industrial work environment was built, based for the first time on the cloud infrastructure. This allows for regular updating of the course content, remote working of the students, and professional tech support from an external company. This infrastructure will be expanded in the future to the other VLSI courses offered in the specialization track in microelectronics, so that the students become familiar with the latest technologies and methodologies in the chip industry market.
Mariana Waxman, director of academic relations at Intel Israel: “The collaboration with the Hebrew University is important to us and will continue in the future, and the new course will mean that not only the students from the department will benefit from it, but also the chip design industry that is developing and growing in the country and in Jerusalem in particular. We are committed to promoting academic teaching in all areas of chip design and development, and we will continue to strengthen the Israeli academy through support and strategic collaborations with the various universities.”