EDA based digital design on non-residential campuses

The design of multi-million transistor on a chip digital systems has become inseparable from advanced electronic design automation (EDA) software for all aspects of the microelectronic design process. While the use of EDA tools for the specification, synthesis and simulation of microelectronic, digital and computer systems is common at residential universities, at small nonresidential campuses microelectronic systems education and the use of EDA tools may be limited or nonexistent. Many challenges are faced by a small nonresidential program incorporating EDA tools into its curriculum. This paper describes these challenges and presents how the electrical engineering department at the University of Colorado at Denver, USA, is introducing EDA tools into its microelectronic and digital systems program