S'pore Poly students to get industry experience at engineering centre

Singapore Polytechnic (SP) has launched an engineering centre in partnership with semiconductor testing company Advantest (Singapore) to equip students with industry experience.

Using equipment worth $2.5 million provided by Advantest, students from SP's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) will learn how to test integrated circuits at the new Test Engineering Centre.

The partnership is an effort by Advantest to expose students to the semiconductor industry and get them interested in the field. About eight teaching staff from SP have also been trained by Advantest instructors to use the equipment.

"The semiconductor industry has become an especially essential one during the Covid-19 pandemic, as devices with high computing power such as medical equipment and teleconferencing tools were high in demand. We saw a shortage of talent and resources in the industry, and we thought we can partner with an institution to expose and train students," said the company's managing director Ricky Sim.

The Singapore subsidiary of Advantest Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of automatic test equipment for the semiconductor sector, employs about 200 people.

Integrated circuit testing is a core module for EEE students specialising in microelectronics. SP also plans to use the facility and equipment to conduct short courses through SkillsFuture for engineers in the semiconductor industry.

SP's EEE student Siva Meyiappan Kasi Azagiameyiappan, 19, who is on a six-month internship at Advantest, said the new facility will help students prepare for the workplace.

"Because of this training, I didn't have a big culture shock when I joined Advantest. I was able to adapt quickly. I think engineering students like myself need practical equipment to learn," he said.

At the centre's launch yesterday, Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang, who was the guest of honour, said: "The SP-Advantest partnership will allow more students such as Siva to experience hands-on experience within the SP campus."

This is the latest collaboration between SP and industry partners.

In January 2019, the polytechnic set up a facility called 5G Garage in partnership with telecommunications firms Singtel and Ericsson.

In November that year, SP partnered with automation company Siemens to launch the SP-Siemens Digital Experience Centre to equip students with digitalisation skills.