Synopsys Announces Winners Of The Fifth Annual International Microel

SYNOPSYS ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE FIFTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL MICROELECTRONICS OLYMPIAD

armradio.am
29.10.2010 18:01

Synopsys, Inc., a world leader in software and IP for semiconductor
design, verification and manufacturing, today announced the final
winners of the fifth annual International Microelectronics Olympiad of
Armenia held over the past six weeks. This year’s competition reflected
the region’s diversity by including participants from Russia, Ukraine,
Jordan, Bulgaria and Serbia.

Of more than 200 competitors in the Olympiad, 132 were students
from Armenian universities: State Engineering University of Armenia
(SEUA), Yerevan State University (YSU), Russian-Armenian (Slavonic)
State University (RAU) and European Regional Educational Academy
(ERIICTA); State Informatics College of Armenia and Yerevan Physics
Institute; Gyumri Information Technologies Center (GITC).

A number of participating students were from universities outside
of Armenia: Moscow Institute of Electronics Technology (MIET);
Saint-Petersburg Electrotechnical University (LETI); Saint-Petersburg
State University of Information Technology, Mechanics and Optics
(ITMO), Kharkov National University of Radio Electronics (KNURE);
Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), Princess Sumaya
University for Technology (PSUT), University of Niš and University
of Serbia. Ten prizes were awarded to the top performers. A list of
the winners is provided below.

The Olympiad spotlights the region’s brightest and most talented
engineers under the age of 30, which is reflective of the growing
development and focus on microelectronics design in Armenia. Olympiad
topics for 2010 included Digital IC Design and Testing, Analog
and Mixed Signal IC Design and Testing, Semiconductor Devices and
Technology, and Mathematical and Algorithmic Issues of Electronic
Design Automation (EDA).

The Olympiad was conducted in two stages. The first stage, which
entailed a test involving a number of basic tasks, was held on
the following dates: October 4 in Kharkov, October 9 in Moscow,
October 10 in Gyumri, October 7 in Niš and Serbia, October 8 in
Saint-Petersburg, and September 18 in Yerevan. The top contestants
advanced to the second stage, which involved a challenging contest
and complex engineering tasks requiring advanced solutions. Of the
more than 200 participants in the first stage, only 50 qualified to
go on to the second stage, which was held October 28 in Yerevan at the
Synopsys Armenia Educational Department (SAED). Of these 50 students,
three were from Gyumri, two from Moscow, one from Saint-Petersburg,
two from Jordan and one from Serbia.

Synopsys held an evening reception on October 29 in Yerevan at
the Chamber Music Hall to announce the winners of the fifth annual
International Microelectronics Olympiad of Armenia.

“The International Armenian Microelectronics Olympiad is a unique event
in the region. Originally created to recognize the best young engineers
in Armenia and to inspire the next generation of Armenian engineers,
it has evolved to provide value in other countries in the region
as well,” said Rich Goldman, president of the organizing committee
of the Olympiad, chief executive officer of Synopsys Armenia CSJC,
and vice president of Corporate Marketing and Strategic Alliances
at Synopsys. “This year we welcomed engineers from three different
countries outside of Armenia who travelled to Yerevan to participate
in the Olympiad. We see this as the beginning of a growing trend in
which Armenia is becoming a regional center for the development of
high tech economies throughout the area.”

“I am glad the Olympiad has picked up greater momentum this year
and has turned into an international event,” said professor Vazgen
Melikyan, president of the program committee of the Olympiad,
director of Synopsys Armenia Educational Department, head of the
interdepartmental chair of SEUA Microelectronic Circuits and Systems,
and honorable scientist of RA. “Each year the Olympiad expands in both
geographic reach and size. We have more participants this year than
in previous years and the quality of the participants’ knowledge has
grown as well. This is a positive sign not only for the event but for
the greater purpose behind the event -to grow the microelectronics
design industry in the region by recognizing the impressive talents
of the region’s future engineers.”

“The annual International Microelectronics Olympiad of Armenia is a
great opportunity for us to compete with not only with our peers, but
also with participants from other countries,” said first year master’s
student of Synopsys Armenia Educational program in EDA specialization
Hamlet Aslanyan. “Participation in such competitions helps us test
our knowledge and practical skills in microelectronics design, which
is an important aspect of the program because it pushes us to become
better future engineers and thus strengthens our contributions to
Armenia’s high tech industry.”

From: A. Papazian