Georgia Tech joins Apple’s new silicon engineering initiative

Georgia Tech has joined Apple’s initiative aimed at preparing students for careers in hardware technology, computer architecture and silicon chip design.

Georgia Tech, based in Atlanta, Georgia, said that its electrical and computer engineering students will now benefit from an expanded tapeout-to-silicon curriculum and have access to Apple engineers to better prepare for a career in hardware engineering.

Let’s ignore the possibility that such jobs may be eliminated by AI in the future. For now, they are extremely skill-intensive and it’s been hard to attract enough American students to pursue these careers in recent years. This kind of program has to happen if we’re to achieve the political aim of being able to design and manufacture technology products on American shores.

The Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) is expanding its collaboration with Apple by joining the company’s New Silicon Initiative (NSI).

As part of the Apple NSI program, ECE students will receive various types of support to enhance their skills in microelectronic circuits and hardware design. This includes scholarship and fellowship opportunities, along with expanded coursework for both undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to connect with Apple engineers through mentorships, guest lectures, and networking events.

The expanded curriculum support will benefit integrated circuit (IC) design and tapeout-to-silicon courses that enable students to prepare for a career in hardware engineering across different focus areas, including circuit technology, electronic devices, and computing hardware and emerging architectures.

“Working with Apple as part of its New Silicon Initiative allows us to bridge the skills gap for a workforce in IC design and computer architecture by preparing students with the technical abilities and skills to enter a rapidly evolving, always in-demand industry,” said Arijit Raychowdhury, professor and chair of ECE at Georgia Tech. “Offering students the ability to learn directly from Apple engineers gives them a leg up and helps them gear up for the next chapter of their careers. We’re grateful and excited to expand our partnership with Apple to offer students unique learning opportunities.”

Apple engineers will work closely with ECE faculty members to present guest lectures across a range of integrated system design courses. The engineers will also participate in reviews for projects in several IC design courses and provide practical feedback to help students improve their designs throughout the tapeout process.

“We’re thrilled to bring the New Silicon Initiative to Georgia Tech, expanding our relationship with its School of Electrical and Computer Engineering,” said Jared Zerbe, director of hardware technologies at Apple, in a statement. “Integrated circuits power countless products and services in every aspect of our world today, and we can’t wait to see how Georgia Tech students will help enable and invent the future.”

As part of the NSI program, graduate students can pursue Apple Ph.D. fellowships, including a Ph.D. Fellowship in Integrated Circuits and Systems announced this October.

The expanded collaboration between Apple and ECE builds upon the 2022 launch of a digital circuit design course introduced with Apple’s support to offer undergraduate students a hands-on theory-to-tapeout course for very large-scale integrated (VLSI) digital circuits.

Apple launched NSI in 2019 and expanded its effort to include several HBCU Colleges of Engineering in 2021. Georgia Tech is now the eighth university to be part of the program, giving students access to cutting-edge technologies and world-class experts.

Apple and ECE held a kick-off event at Georgia Tech last month to share the NSI news with students. During the event, Apple experts and ECE faculty members highlighted how the program will be integrated into the School’s hardware curriculum. Over 600 students attended, enjoying networking opportunities, burritos, and bubble tea. You can view the event photos here.

To learn more about the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, visit . For more information about the Apple NSI at ECE, visit https://ece.gatech.edu/apple-new-silicon-initiative-nsi.

As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society. More than 2,500 students are enrolled in ECE.