Fudan to boost integrated circuit industry

Fudan University is to spend 470 million yuan (US$68 million) building a platform for innovation and integration of education and production of integrated circuits, the university announced on Wednesday.

Fudan is one of the first four universities in China selected by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Education to promote innovation and integration in the industry and education. The other three are Tsinghua, Peking and Xiamen, with Fudan getting the highest funding.

With the investment and the platforms, the universities are expected to accelerate making breakthroughs in key technologies in the industry of integrated circuits and cultivate talent badly needed for industrial development.

Relying on its school of microelectronics, Fudan will join with leading enterprises in integrated circuits to build a platform that will promote the industry in the Yangtze River Delta region, said the university.

It will focus on key technologies that hinder development of the industry in China and research new-generation technologies, such as chip design, tools for electronic design automation, manufacturing of electronic devices and chip packaging.

While aiming at breakthroughs in those technologies that can gain intellectual property rights and be industrialized, the platform is also expected to cultivate leading professionals in the industry, such as innovative engineers and technicians.

According to Fudan's plan, its platform will be able to train 2,000 people a year after its completion in 2021.