Generosity from Intel

From left: Dr Yeap, Gan, Koay, Dr Loh, Dr Yap, Wong and Dr Teh posing with the FPGA boards

Under the Intel® FPGA University Program, Intel Technology Sdn Bhd, Penang donated 25 pieces of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) development boards to the Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology (FEGT) on 19 September 2018 at Kampar Campus. Present at the donation ceremony were FEGT Dean Assoc Prof Dr Yap Vooi Voon, and academics Assoc Prof Ir Dr Yeap Kim Ho and Ir Dr Loh Siu Hong. The delegates from Intel were Senior Manager of SoC team Wong Chong Wai, with his colleagues Gan Chai Huat, Koay Boon Wooi and Dr Teh Eong Yap.

The Intel® FPGA University Program is a programme that assists universities and colleges to develop and enhance knowledge in electronic engineering courses, such as computer systems design, digital logic design and embedded system design. Under this programme, Intel also offers donations of licenses for software and intellectual property (IP), and donations of FPGA hardware. Faculty and staff of universities and colleges can register as a member of the Intel FPGA University Program.

The development board that were donated are known as the DE1-SoC board, which is an educational tool intended for use in experiments on VLSI design and embedded systems. The system contains embedded processors, memory, audio, video device and some I/O peripherals.

FEGT expressed their gratitude to Intel for their kind donation, and for enabling the faculty to further develop and enhance students’ knowledge in electronic engineering courses. They believe the practical lessons using FPGA boards will provide students with the necessary practical skills demanded by the industries and increase their employability rate.

Currently, FPGA is used in several final year projects and postgraduate projects. It is also commonly used in undergraduate programmes. FEGT also expressed their hope for students to be able to acquire important skills in VLSI design and embedded systems and to be better prepared to be an integrated circuit design engineer, which is highly demanded in the electronics industry in Malaysia and globally.