Although the EDA market size is relatively small (SEMI data shows that the EDA market size was 13.437 billion US dollars in 2022), it supports the hundreds of billions of dollars of IC manufacturing and the trillions of dollars of the electronics and digital economy industry. With the rise of technologies such as 5G, AI, smart cars, and IoT, EDA technology has become the core of high-quality development of the digital economy.

Siemens EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics) entered the Chinese market as a pioneer in 1989 and has been there for thirty-four years.

In the early days, Siemens EDA mainly focused on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) business. It was not until around the year 2000, with the rise of China's integrated circuit chip manufacturing industry, that Siemens EDA began to collaborate with numerous manufacturers and academic institutions, further promoting the development of the semiconductor industry.

Tsinghua University, as a leading institution in the field of integrated circuit design in China, has always maintained a close cooperative relationship with Siemens EDA. Recently, Professor Zhou Zucheng from Tsinghua University, who has been a witness to the many years of cooperation between the two sides, took us through the journey of the cooperation with Siemens EDA over the years, and also put forward his own profound insights on the training of integrated circuit design talents in China.

Advertisement

The Journey of Cooperation between Tsinghua University and Siemens EDA

The history of cooperation between Tsinghua University and Siemens EDA can be described as having a long-standing relationship. Since Siemens EDA first entered the Chinese market, it has actively promoted cooperation with academic institutions related to the integrated circuit industry, with Tsinghua University being one of its important partners.

When talking about this profound friendship, one cannot help but mention Teacher Zhou Zucheng. Teacher Zhou is a witness and participant in the cooperation process between Tsinghua University and Siemens EDA.

Looking back, Teacher Zhou said, "The first cooperation with Siemens EDA was in 1989. At that time, Mentor Graphics, which was already a well-known EDA company in the industry, had just set up an office in Beijing and established a close connection with Tsinghua University, opening the prelude to the story of cooperation between the two."

In the early days of EDA technology entering the Chinese market, Teacher Zhou communicated with engineers from Siemens EDA and decided to purchase EDA tools. In 1988, Siemens EDA arranged for them to go to Hong Kong for training. After returning, he localized all the teaching materials for the teaching of graduate students in the Department of Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University. He has a deep cooperation experience with Siemens EDA in hardware design, especially in FPGA design simulation and PCB board design. To solve various problems in the design process, he learned and mastered the software such as QuickSim, AccuSim, Tanner, Board Station at that time, and behind the continuous efforts was the full support of Siemens EDA.

Recalling the past, Teacher Zhou said frankly: "The early introduction of EDA in Tsinghua University's 'VHSIC laboratory' is inseparable from the introduction of Siemens EDA tools and the acceptance of software donations."At the same time, Professor Zhou has played an important role as a bridge and driving force in the cooperation between Tsinghua University and Siemens EDA, providing technical, educational, and project support for the collaboration.

As the cooperation has gradually deepened, Siemens EDA has not only provided advanced EDA tools to Tsinghua University but also arranged a series of professional training programs. This respect and strong support have enabled Professor Zhou and his team to localize the relevant tutorials as soon as possible, benefiting more students at Tsinghua University. The training arranged by Siemens EDA for scholars at Tsinghua University has not only expanded their skills and horizons but also made them deeply feel that Siemens EDA not only provides basic entry-level tools but also has a broader and more in-depth range of solutions behind it.

In recent years, Siemens EDA has continuously developed and burst forth with fresh vitality, constantly improving the full-chain solutions covering IC design and verification, IC packaging and manufacturing, electronic systems, and extending to product lifecycle management (PLM) and analysis fields. By releasing the technical potential of industrial software in conjunction with Siemens, it helps various enterprises to accelerate the pace of digital transformation from the bottom up.

Looking at the present, Siemens EDA has already laid out a very comprehensive layout in the fields of integrated circuit and system design, simulation, and manufacturing solutions. After joining Siemens Digital Industry Software, its application field has been further expanded. Professor Zhou Zucheng said that he is very much looking forward to the comprehensive cooperation between the Department of Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University and Siemens EDA in the future, and regards it as an industrial software to explore the value of EDA in practical applications more deeply.

Chip Design Competition: A Fertile Soil for Talent Nurturing and a Milestone for Industry-Education Integration

In the development of China's integrated circuit industry and talent cultivation, Professor Zhou and Tsinghua University have made significant contributions. They have not only achieved outstanding results in the field of technology and research and development, but more importantly, they have gone further on the path of promoting the close integration of industry, academia, and research.

In 1996, Professor Zhou proposed a visionary suggestion to hold a domestic postgraduate-level integrated circuit design EDA competition and apply professional design tools provided by Siemens EDA and other well-known companies. The goal behind this proposal was not only to select top talents in the industry but more importantly, to encourage more schools and students to come into contact with and utilize advanced EDA tools. The promotion and application of this advanced technology undoubtedly accelerated the development of China's integrated circuit industry and promoted the process of industry-education integration.

With the support of manufacturers such as Siemens EDA, the "Research Electricity Competition" and "Create 'Core' Competition" in China have now become an important part of industry-education integration. These two major events have not only successfully attracted the participation of many scholars and researchers but have also received extensive support and recognition from enterprises and the government. Professor Zhou's evaluation of the participating students is very positive, and he highly praises their research results. For him, as an educator, talent cultivation is the main business of teachers, and being able to see the growth and success of students is the greatest satisfaction.

In fact, Siemens EDA has long realized that the joint cooperation of schools and enterprises in industry, academia, and research is to cultivate talents in the IC field, which is also the cornerstone of China's IC industry. To this end, Siemens EDA successively signed national key laboratory projects with Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and Peking University in 1991, 1993, and 2004, respectively, and signed the "Integrated Circuit Talent Cultivation Plan" with the Ministry of Education. In 2018, Siemens EDA joined the Demonstration Microelectronics College Industry-Education Integration Development Alliance established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Education, and invested various resources to help 27 demonstration microelectronics colleges with curriculum training, and carried out curriculum alliance and other work with professors. To date, Siemens EDA has cooperation plans with more than 80 universities. In addition to universities, Siemens EDA also carries out various training cooperations with Chinese customers.Professor Zhou emphasized the importance of the close integration of industry, academia, and research for the integrated circuit industry. He believes that with the continuous advancement of technology and the sustained development of the industry, cooperation between industry, academia, and research is the key to driving the integrated circuit industry forward. Professor Zhou believes that the integration of industry and education is an important direction for the cultivation of integrated circuit talent at present and in the future. The cooperation between Tsinghua University and companies such as Siemens EDA is a typical example of the integration of industry and education. This cooperation not only provides students with practical work experience but also makes the school's research more grounded and more in line with industry needs.

In recent years, China's integrated circuit industry has developed rapidly, and the demand for talent cultivation has increased day by day. Professor Zhou mentioned that although domestic universities such as Tsinghua have cultivated a large number of talents, there are still problems such as a shortage of high-end talents, insufficient cooperation between academia and the industry, and talent loss. To solve these problems, the cooperation between Tsinghua and companies such as Siemens EDA has provided students with more practical opportunities.

How to seize the new opportunities for the rise of China's semiconductor industry?

Regarding the recent development of China's semiconductor industry, Professor Zhou showed an optimistic attitude. At the behest of Academician Ni Guangnan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, in 2018, he spent two months personally investigating the current state of the domestic EDA industry, passing through seven major cities. He pointed out that although the competition in the entire semiconductor chain is fierce, China has made significant breakthroughs in some technical fields, especially some independently developed EDA tools, which have been adopted by many companies.

Professor Zhou believes that multiple links in the semiconductor industry chain, such as design and manufacturing, are not only pursuing technological innovation but also hope to be recognized and profitable in the market. He made it clear that it is undoubtedly a long and arduous journey to compete with the top three global manufacturers for the entire industry chain. He believes that although it is not easy for domestic EDA to change from following to leading, breakthroughs in some technical fields will help Chinese companies win the market's favor.

Talking about the future, he is full of confidence in artificial intelligence, Chiplets, and other high-tech fields. He sees that China has huge potential and progress in these fields, especially in the field of artificial intelligence. Professor Zhou looks forward to achieving more results in these fields through continuous technological innovation.

When talking about Siemens, Professor Zhou saw a huge cooperation opportunity, especially in the field of EDA. Nowadays, China has the world's first data increment and growth rate, high-performance computing, and artificial intelligence chips have been vigorously developed in China. With the promotion of these technologies, new requirements have been put forward for EDA. Professor Zhou emphasized that in order to better cultivate the Chinese market, Siemens EDA can establish closer cooperation with Chinese colleges and universities. Tsinghua University will also continue to cooperate with Siemens EDA, strengthen Tsinghua University's leading role in the field of electronic and computer design, and jointly usher in the era of EDA 2.0.