IESA Launches Initiative to Encourage Engineering Students to Opt for Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Careers

With an aim to strengthen the career route for engineering students in the semiconductor and electronics industry, India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) has launched a first-of-its-kind ‘Semiconductor Nation - Campus Connect’ initiative.
 
The initiative aims to measurably increase the uptake of ECE and CE students for the semiconductor and electronics industry careers over a period of four years.
 
Explaining the need for the launch of the initiative, Dr. Pradip Thaker, Executive Council, IESA, said, “in 2021, the Indian semiconductor market was at USD 27 billion. It is forecasted to reach USD 64 billion by 2026. Naturally, the sector is ripe with abundant opportunities for different stakeholders, including budding ECE and CE graduates. However, we must admit that compared to the IT sector, semiconductor and electronics industry is relatively lower on the radar of modern-age students. This is why IESA plans to create awareness and share knowledge among the students. The Indian semiconductor and electronics industry has the potential to lead the global market, and to do so, industry leaders will need to inspire, motivate, support and nurture talent of the country to be part of the journey and be industry-ready skills for existing and new emerging opportunities as nation moves from being a chip-taker to chip-maker.”
 
Given that a majority of engineering talent (ECE, CE, CS students) today are opting for IT careers, thus the semiconductor and electronics industry is facing a considerable challenge. In this context, IESA believes that this initiative is going to be pivotal in attracting skilled talent and rerouting them towards the opportunities available in the electronics and ESDM (Electronic System Design and Manufacturing) sector.
 
Further, the initiative will be conducted in 3 phases i.e. Create Awareness, Share Knowledge and Connect Industry.
 
The industry body said in a statement that, “the platform built as part of this initiative will be accessible to all students and faculty across the nation in first of its kind massive industry outreach to campuses that teach ECE/CE/CS/Electronics disciplines as UG/PG major.”