The Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology has completed another cohort of the USTP Digital IC Design and Verification Training, delivered on campus with support from Pakistan Software Export Board and the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication. The programme forms part of the broader National Semiconductor HR Development Program, also known as INSPIRE, which carries a total government allocation of Rs4.844 billion aimed at building a structured pipeline of chip design talent in Pakistan.
Participants in the latest cohort received hands-on training in digital IC design and verification, working directly with industry standard electronic design automation tools inside GIKI’s dedicated laboratories. The training combined practical lab work with interactive sessions led by faculty and industry mentors, giving participants exposure to real world chip design workflows alongside theoretical instruction.
The Chip-DV team at GIKI, which has coordinated the institute’s chip design and verification training efforts for the past several years, credited the cohort’s completion to its faculty, lab engineers, and the trainees themselves, describing the group as among the sharpest engineering talent drawn from across the country for the programme. GIKI leads a consortium of institutions delivering the USTP training under INSPIRE, with parallel cohorts also run through partner sites in Islamabad and Abbottabad since the programme’s rollout began earlier this year.
Pakistan Software Export Board has continued to position the INSPIRE initiative as central to its strategy for building a competitive domestic semiconductor workforce, with the fully funded programme offering participants a monthly stipend alongside structured pathways into employment upon completion. With another cohort now finishing its training cycle, the programme continues working toward its longer term goal of producing several thousand chip design and verification engineers as Pakistan looks to establish a stronger foothold in the global semiconductor industry.
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