NEW CHALLENGES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE MICROELECTRONICS FIELD
Résumé
The microelectronics is a domain that is at the heart of the new technologies as well for education as for the societal applications. At the same time, the field of application of the microelectronics is opened to Internet of Things, (IoT) which means the creation of thousands and thousands of connected objects that can cover a large spectrum of the societal needs. The design and the production of these objects need within the field of microelectronics a large spectrum of knowledge and competences that include first of all the electronics circuits and devices, but also the computer-aided-design (CAD), the technologies of fabrication (technological processes), but also cross-domain such as mechatronics, optoelectronics, bioelectronics, etc. The challenge for the educators who want to answer to the academic and industrial needs is today to adapt the curricula and the associated activities of the students in order to acquire a solid knowledge and a good know-how. If the knowledge can be partially acquired thanks to new digital tools on-line, the know-how becomes mandatory and the pedagogical approach of the higher education in this scientific field must shift progressively to greater practice training. After a presentation of the context, the paper deals with the new pedagogical strategy mainly based on the practice training in microelectronics and nanotechnologies. This approach tries to facilitate the understanding of the bases of the discipline thanks to some adapted practice that complete the theoretical knowledge, but also through a multidisciplinary trend in order to create a behavior strongly oriented towards innovation among technicians, engineers and doctors. This strategy is applied by the French microelectronics network, the CNFM (National Coordination for Education in Microelectronics and Nanotechnologies), and several examples of experiences will be described and discussed.