From AI to chips: ‘I had no idea how much was going on in Nijmegen’
When people think of the Dutch semiconductor industry, Eindhoven and ASML spring immediately to mind. But there is also a lot going on in the field of semiconductors in the Lifeport region of Arnhem-Nijmegen. Simon discovered this during his work placement at NXP in Nijmegen. As an AI student, he had hardly any idea what the sector was like beforehand. Three months later, his view of it has changed completely.
This summer, Simon completed his Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence at Radboud University. Chips and semiconductors hardly featured at all during his studies. Of course, he’d heard of NXP and knew that chips were important, but what exactly lay behind that industry and what role Nijmegen played in it? He didn’t know.
Through a lecturer, Simon ended up at NXP more or less by chance. He was keen to experience what it’s like to work for a large, international technology company and to discover what role his own field of study plays there. “How does data science fit into such a large tech company? I found that interesting to find out.”
Using AI in chip production
During his work placement, Simon joined the data science team and worked in both Nijmegen and Eindhoven. His task? To investigate how AI can help to detect errors more quickly during the chip production process.
During one of the production stages, very small connections are made to the chips at lightning speed. If something goes wrong during this process, it is sometimes only discovered afterwards under a microscope. This is a shame, because by that point a great deal of time and money has already been invested in the chip.
Simon therefore developed an AI model that learns what normal sensor data from the production machine looks like. If the signal deviates, this may indicate that something is going wrong. His research was intended to determine whether such an approach has potential in practice.
“It was a really great application of what I’d learnt during my studies.” At the same time, his work placement gave him an insight into topics that NXP and the semiconductor industry are working on, but which were covered far less extensively in his degree programme. One example is Edge AI: AI that can run locally, close to where the data is generated, on relatively small and energy-efficient hardware. According to Simon, it would be interesting if students were introduced to such applications earlier in their studies, precisely because there is also a great deal of innovation taking place in this field in the Netherlands.
A world that turns out to be much bigger than expected
Through his work placement, Simon gained his first real insight into the world behind microchips. He saw just how innovative the sector is, how many people and disciplines are involved, and what technology is actually being developed and manufactured right here in Nijmegen.
“Of course, I knew beforehand that NXP was based here, but I had no idea just how much semiconductor development and production actually takes place in Nijmegen. I thought that was really cool.”
What also struck him was just how broad the sector is. Simon himself came from a background in AI and data science, but the semiconductor industry also needs software developers, technicians, researchers and technical business specialists. “You encounter the entire supply chain here. That means you can go in many different directions within a company like this.”
It is precisely this perspective, he believes, that is still missing among many students. ‘Semicon’ can quickly sound abstract and technical, whilst students from all sorts of degree programmes can put their own expertise to good use here.
Bringing the world of semiconductors closer to students
According to Simon, this also presents an opportunity for educational institutions and companies. Introduce students to the sector at an earlier stage. For example, through guest lectures, company visits and concrete examples of what goes on within the semiconductor industry.
“That makes it much more vivid. You then gain some of the context during your studies that I only acquired during my work placement.”
Work placements play a key role in this. Not only do they give students a glimpse behind the scenes, but they also help them gain the knowledge and experience needed to work in the sector later on. For those starting out, a work placement can serve as an important bridge into the sector. “You get to know technology and working environments that you wouldn’t normally encounter during a university degree.”
Conversely, students also have something to offer companies. “We bring with us up-to-date knowledge from our degree programme, are used to picking up new tools and techniques quickly, and learn a great deal about new developments within our field.”
Perhaps a future in semiconductors
For Simon, at any rate, the work placement has certainly set things in motion. Whilst the semiconductor sector was previously barely on his radar, he would now like to work in the sector. After his placement, he discussed opportunities with NXP to keep him on, but at that time there was no suitable junior role within machine learning, AI or data science. They are still in touch.
Ideally, Simon would like to find a job in the Nijmegen area. And what about other students who get the chance to do an internship in the semiconductor industry? He doesn’t need to spend long convincing them.
“I can definitely recommend an internship at NXP. It’s really interesting to discover just how much technology is involved and everything that happens before a chip is finally produced.”