Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) joined the closing ceremony of the Digital IC Design and Verification Training Program on 29 October 2026, according to a post on its LinkedIn page. The training was delivered as part of the Prime Minister’s National Semiconductor Human Resource Development Program (NSHRDP), known as INSPIRE, and was completed by 40 competitively selected students. The Department of Computer Engineering at COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, hosted the ceremony and the distribution of certificates. PSEB described the course as a contribution to Pakistan’s growing pipeline of semiconductor talent and said that specialised talent and strong academic institutions are essential for a competitive semiconductor sector.
PSEB representatives attended the ceremony together with the rectors of COMSATS University Islamabad and the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI). Representatives from the National Electronics Complex of Pakistan, the Sir Syed CASE Institute of Technology, and the National Radio Telecommunication Corporation were also present. PSEB said that building this depth of expertise can improve Pakistan’s ability to support specialised technology businesses, and that continued engagement between educational institutions and industry will be important in developing that potential. The post does not say how long the course lasted at this campus, how the 40 students were selected, or what jobs or further training they will move on to.
INSPIRE is a flagship initiative of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that has a total approved budget of Rs4.844 billion. When the prime minister launched it last year, the plan was to train 7,200 professionals in chip design, verification, and research over five years, with an initial allocation of Rs4.5 billion under the Public Sector Development Programme, the establishment of six integrated circuit (IC) labs, and capacity building at nine public universities, as Business Recorder and Digital Pakistan reported. The programme is the first phase of a National Semiconductor Development Roadmap, which envisions Pakistan eventually moving into chip assembly, testing, and fabrication. Its upskilling component covers digital IC design and verification, which are the stages in which a chip’s logic is designed and then tested in simulation before it is manufactured.
The programme has moved quickly this year. An entrance test held on 25 April drew thousands of candidates across the country, according to PSEB announcements, and classes began on 11 May at NED University of Engineering and Technology, UIT University, and Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, with GIKI running its own batch. The training offers full fee sponsorship and a monthly scholarship, subject to terms, and GIKI has said its first batch completed four months of study covering C and C++ programming, digital system design, computer architecture, digital verification, and capstone projects. The ceremony at COMSATS Abbottabad adds another group of graduates, and the next question is how many of them find work in chip design and how quickly Pakistan can build the companies and laboratories to employ them, which the programme’s later phases are meant to address.
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