A Project-Based Learning Approach for Teaching VLSI Design

A student-centered project-based learning approach for teaching mixed analog/digital Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) design is proposed. It has been employed since 2014 in a M. Sc. Engineering course on Embedded and Integrated Systems Design at the Public University of Navarre (Spain). The most distinctive feature of the approach is that it tries to mimic as much as possible the way integrated circuits are designed in practice in IC design centers in terms of project management, task planning, role assignment, etc. The final goal is to prepare students to the way the semiconductor industry design teams work, trying to maximize chances of students to successfully and seamlessly join industrial teams in this area. Results of ten years using this approach demonstrate the positive impact on student learning.