Aimed at advancing Vietnam's electrical and mechanical engineering curricula and support the country's growing high-tech industry, Cadence Design Systems Inc. has joined the Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program (HEEAP) with an in-kind donation of electronic design automation software and services valued at over $40 M.

The donation enables students in Vietnam to gain hands-on experience with the software and services that engineers around the world rely on, including the Cadence® proprietary software, hardware, design and verification IP, memory models, methodologies, and design services that are used to create the integrated circuits and silicon chips found inside most electronic devices.

HEEAP is a collaborative program of the United States Agency of International Development (USAID), Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering (ASU), Portland State University’s Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science (PSU), Intel Corp., Siemens, Danaher Corporation and other industry partners with the top technical universities in Vietnam.

“Cadence believes that innovation begins in education and is committed to preparing students with the tools and training they need to thrive in the competitive semiconductor and electronics marketplace,” said Charlie Huang, Senior Vice President, Cadence Worldwide Field Operations. “Our customers are expanding into emerging countries such as Vietnam and we are pleased to be a part of developing their engineering workforce.”

HEEAP works closely with Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and university leadership in Vietnam to put in place the programs and infrastructure that support faculty training, curricula development and hands-on student learning experiences. Students will have the opportunity to gain the technical expertise as well as the competencies needed to succeed in a global economy.

Under the auspices of HEEAP, Cadence will provide future engineers in Vietnam with access to cutting-edge IC design software and will help instructors develop a curriculum that applies design theories to real-world engineering challenges. For nearly 20 years, the company has worked with academic institutions and government organizations around the globe to enable them to build and implement design engineering education programs and support developing the global electronics marketplace.