- 60 lecturers from 19 Malaysian unis train in one-day IC Design workshop
- ASEM commits to producing 20k industry-ready engineers over 5 years
The Advanced Semiconductor Academy of Malaysia (ASEM), together with the Malaysia Semiconductor IC Design Park that was launched last Aug, hosted a one-day train-the-trainer (TTT) workshop at the latter located at the Puchong Financial Corporate Centre (PFCC) in Kuala Lumpur to bridge the gap between industry demands and academic preparation. The workshop was held in conjunction with the Brazil x Malaysia Bilateral Semiconductor Program.
With the theme “Delivering the Next Gen of Chip Builders,” the Brazil x Malaysia Bilateral Semiconductor Program is a new international initiative focused on talent development, innovation, and global collaboration. The TTT workshop served as the main agenda for Day 2 of the program, bringing together 60 lecturers from 11 public and 8 private universities across Malaysia for a full-day, hands-on session.
The workshop was led by Brazil’s Von Braun Labs—a R&D center specializing in advanced technologies in microelectronics, AI, and IoT. Founded in 1997 by Dario Sassi Thober, a physicist, as a centre for advanced research, in 2001 Von Braun Labs adopted the name of renowned planetary scientist Wernher von Braun. It is the designer of the secure chip used in Brazil’s national tolling system, which has enabled over 5 billion secure transactions using chips manufactured in Malaysia.
The session introduced ChipInventor, Von Braun Labs’ cloud-based EDA (Electronic Design Automation) platform powered by AWS. This tool runs entirely in a web browser and has already been used to build a real working chip in just a few weeks. It replaces costly hardware and complex setups with an accessible, browser-based solution for chip design, simulation, and prototyping. During the session, educators explored how to modernise curricula, reduce costs, and better equip graduates for high-value careers in the semiconductor industry.
(EDA is a category of software tools that are used for designing ASIC. These systems can range from integrated circuits to printed circuit boards.)
“This workshop is one of our efforts to strengthen Malaysia’s semiconductor industry. We’re building global partnerships with Von Braun Labs, among others such as ARM, TSMC, MediaTek, Vanguard, and Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology to ensure our university partners gain access to world-class knowledge, skills, and technology. This marks the start of a long-term push to position Malaysia as a hub for semiconductor innovation,” said Angel Low (pic), General Manager of ASEM.“This workshop has been an eye-opening experience, exposing us to web-based EDA tools that are accessible to everyone. It opens the door for IC design to be popularised across all levels of education.” said Jasmine Hau, Electrical Engineering Lecturer, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
This initiative supports the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) as ASEM commits to producing 20,000 industry-ready engineers over the next five years. By training educators, ASEM starts the knowledge transfer where it matters most — in the classroom.
ASEM’s TTT workshop is a part of a wider effort to bridge academia and industry. Another key initiative under this mission is the National Semiconductor Excellence Program (NSEP) — a hands-on, short-term program for university students and graduates who want to build careers in IC design, verification, and related fields.