IC design for smart cities competition opens for students nationwide

The 2nd Integrated Circuit Design for Smart Cities Competition for students nationwide kicked off in HCM City on December 18. — VNS Photo Nguyễn Diệp

HCM CITY — The second edition of the Integrated Circuit (IC) Design for Smart Cities Competition for students nationwide officially kicked off in HCM City on Wednesday (December 18).

The kick-off ceremony of the competition was also broadcast live in HCM City, Hà Nội, and Đà Nẵng City.

The Sài Gòn Hi-Tech Park’s Management Board will chair the competition, while the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) of HCM City, HCM City’s Department of Information and Communications, Department of Science and Technology and National University-HCM City, in collaboration with relevant agencies in Hà Nội and Đà Nẵng, will organise the competition.

Speaking at the ceremony, Lê Quốc Cường, deputy head of the Sài Gòn Hi-Tech Park’s Management Board, said the contest aims to promote creativity and research in IC design products and solutions to serve fields in promoting smart urban construction in cities across the country.

“It also provides an opportunity to discover talent to develop high-quality resources for the semiconductor chip industry in the country,” he said.

It will focus on training, incubation and turning ideas into products.

All students studying at universities, colleges and institutes in the country, who have creative ideas, projects, and research topics in the field of IC design that have practical applications, are encouraged to participate in the competition.

Candidates will take part in four rounds, including preliminary idea, product finalisation, professional evaluation and final rounds.

Registration is open until December 31 and online registration is available at https://bit.ly/ICDesign2024-register

More information about the competition is available at https://icdesign.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/

The final round and awards ceremony is scheduled to be held in May 2025 in HCM City.

HCM City has established a microchip and semiconductor electronics centre, the first one in the country, in cooperation with large enterprises, to provide training of human resources to meet the country's needs.

The microchip industry is the nucleus of the electronics industry, and a workforce is necessary to master microchip technology and semiconductor technology. The city is also the first place to design and produce microchips in the country.

Last year, the competition attracted the participation of more than 40 projects. Five outstanding projects entered the final round.

Phạm Thế Hùng from the University of Science under National University-HCM City won the first prize for his chip design.

One second prize, one third prize, four consolation prizes, six impressive prizes, four prizes for best posters, and two prizes for most impressive project presentation were presented to candidates and candidate groups. — VNS