An industry-sponsored professional development course: design for automotive ASICs

Delco Electronics Corporation developed and offered a two week professional development course on integrated circuit (IC) design entitled “Design for Automotive ASICs” during the summer of 1991. It was cosponsored with the American Society for Engineering Education, with additional training and support provided by Mentor Graphics, Cascade Design Automation and Hewlett Packard Corporations. During the first week, engineers and managers from Delco Electronics described products and technologies through several presentations and tours. Also, the participants learned about IC design tools and methodology through lectures and labs using engineering workstations. During the second week the participants designed one of four ICs based on circuit specifications for automotive applications. Our experiences in the planning and execution of this course can provide guidance for others considering the development of an industry-sponsored course