MICROELECTRONIC SYSTEMS NEWS

FILENUMBER: 9806 BEGIN_KEYWORDS CADENCE UNIVERSITY END_KEYWORDS DATE: February 1998 TITLE: CADENCE NORTH AMERICA UNIVERSITY SOFTWARE PROGRAM

TITLE: CADENCE NORTH AMERICA UNIVERSITY SOFTWARE PROGRAM
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Duncan Wylie, Program Coordinator
University Software Program, Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Phone: (408) 944-7827    email:duncan@cadence.com
Fax: (408) 954-9517      CADENCE
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Cadence Design Systems, Inc. has introduced its new University Alliance Program, 
created to facilitate and optimize the use of Cadence software tools by 
university students.  Through this program, Cadence provides a  channel 
for communication and cooperation among universities trying to scale the 
commercial software learning curve.

The University Alliance Program provides universities with incentives to
create an on-line educational resource that shares information about using
Cadence tool applications. Examples of resources universities will
contribute include cell libraries, design components, design examples,
design flows, tutorials, etc. A centralized web site linking the
information will be created for the benefit of all students using Cadence
software.

"Students face different constraints than our commercial customers.
They have a very short time frame to learn how to use Cadence tools and
accomplish a specific task," said Sylvia Chanak, director of the Cadence
North America University Software Program. "In the past, students have had
to reinvent the wheel, because the experiences of one group of students
isn't necessarily passed on to the next wave of students. Cadence believes
universities could benefit significantly if students could leverage the
progress of their peers. This could easily accelerate their learning curve
and consequently, expand the scope of their design work using
state-of-the-art commercial tools."

Ultimately,  the new program will benefit the industry at large, by
ensuring a top-notch pool of engineering talent, as these students take
their refined skills into the commercial marketplace.

"We have had Cadence software incorporated in our curriculum for a
long time and encourage any efforts to make learning and using it easier
for our students," said Professor Bruce Wooley, professor of electrical
engineering at Stanford University. "The idea of sharing materials across
universities makes a lot of sense, and we look forward to participating in
the program."

About the University Alliance Program

The University Alliance Program is available to any university that
has participated in the existing University Program for at least one year.
Eligible universities will maintain the websites and update them regularly,
with Cadence maintaining the centralized website. In addition, a university
will send at least one representative to the annual International Cadence
Users (ICU) conference.  This year's ICU will be in held in September in
Austin, TX, and will feature special sessions for university attendees.

"Attending ICU will be a wonderful benefit to university users of
Cadence software," said Peter Stokes, chairman of the ICU Group. "The
conference will provide a productive forum where universities can interact
with a broad community of commercial users as well as other universities."

Cadence North America University Software Program

The University Alliance Program is the latest offering from the
Cadence North America University Software Program. Organized in 1993, the
program provides universities with software across the broad spectrum of
Cadence's product offerings for system-level design, advanced logic design
and verification, deep submicron and custom IC design, and high-speed PCB
design. Last year alone, Cadence donated $20 billion in software to
approximately 200 university sites in North America. Cadence also offers
hotline support and training course access for university users.

"The learning curve for students in electronics is really steep.
This new program will create a community among electronics students in
different universities.  Most electronic system design tools are complex to
learn and to use effectively. Cadence software is certainly a mainstay in
the domain of integrated circuit design and as such is a must for any
student interested in pursuing a career as a designer. Building a source of
information and of know-how on tool applications is truly a remarkable step
in providing better education to our students."
                                --Professor Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli
                                  Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
                                  University of California, Berkeley

"Universities don't currently have a good mechanism for sharing
materials that help in learning commercial software. And yet these
commercial tools are necessary for universities who are engaging in
real-world designs. The sharing of web sites filled with helpful items on
how to learn and use EDA software in an academic setting and low-cost
access to software will help many universities, especially since, with
budget cuts, finding even a few thousand dollars is difficult."
                                --Professor Michael J. S. Smith
                                  Electrical Engineering
                                  University of Hawaii at Manoa

"The students are the ones who will benefit the most from the
shared materials and ideas regarding usage of Cadence tools. This is
definitely a move in the right direction."
--Professor Wojciech Maly
                                  Electrical and Computer Engineering
                                  Carnegie Mellon University

"I fully support the use of Cadence tools for our research and
education. It will help ECE students to be equipped with state-of-the-art
tools and be better prepared for their future career. We are pleased to
partner with Cadence in the establishment of a University Alliance Program.
We see much value by sharing university-developed materials in scaling the
learning curve of using commercial tools such as Cadence's, and in
dispersing the advanced research we are able to do as a consequence."
                                --Professor Sung-Mo (Steve) Kang
                                  Department Head
                                  Electrical and Computer Engineering
                                  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"The continued growth of Cadence, especially in its Design
Factorysm network, depends on hiring both experienced engineers and new
graduates. Our Design Services offer some of the most exciting
opportunities for new engineering graduates looking for real-world design
challenges. Those who are at least familiar with our tools and
methodologies will have an advantage in vying for jobs looking for
engineers with Cadence product experience. This gives the students an edge
in the job market, and it benefits Cadence in being able to bring in new
employees who can get up to speed quickly."
                                --Tim Johnston
                                  University Relations & Recruiting Director
                                  Cadence Design Systems, Inc.



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