![UC students work in the Mantei Center Cleanroom.](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2023/06/n21176229/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1695392724655.jpg)
UC launches training for new Intel jobs
Consortium of Ohio universities is getting workers ready for new high-tech careers
The University of Cincinnati is training some of the approximately 20,000 workers Intel Corp. plans to hire at the microchip fabrication plants it is building in southwest Ohio.
To support the growing workforce needs of Intel in Ohio, UC last year organized a consortium of 15 partnering colleges and universities to train both students and workers in semiconductor technology and manufacturing.
So far, about 300 undergraduate and graduate students have registered this spring for the micro-credentials. The course consists of a series of modules and videos that cover training on the fundamentals and safety of working in clean rooms used in microchip manufacturing.
A clean room is a controlled environment that filters pollutants like dust, airborne microbes and aerosol particles to provide the cleanest area possible. The experience also requires the students to participate in three hours of training in a clean room at UC, the University of Dayton or Wright State University.
UC College of Engineering and Applied Science Professor Rashmi Jha is director of the Mantei Center Cleanroom, where students learn about microchip fabrication. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC
“The curriculum will be openly available, per Intel’s requirements, so it can be exported to universities across the state and to other places where Intel has fabrication plants,” said Gautam Pillay, associate dean of UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.
Professor Marc Cahay, head of UC’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said the training introduces Ohio students to other courses offered at the OASiS partner institutions dealing with aspects of semiconductor manufacturing, devices and circuits. These classes augment the longer in-house training that Intel provides its employees.
UC and the other members of the OASiS consortium plan to expand the micro-credentialing certifications with short courses that address other needed skills, he said.
Cahay said the training program could encourage some students to pursue engineering degrees at UC, particularly by establishing articulation agreements with community colleges. In the future, the OASiS partners propose to work on an expansion of the clean room micro-credentials. This expansion is called the Accelerated Program for Enhanced Competence in Semiconductors.
It would include a contribution from the 15 partner institutions involved in OASiS. They will create a portfolio of micro-credentials to shorten the time needed for future Intel employees to be efficient in their job, saving money by considerably reducing the time typically required for this training, which can take as long as two years.
Students in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science are also preparing for jobs in Ohio’s growing high-tech fields. In UC’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, students get practical experience working in the Mantei Center Cleanroom under the direction of Professor Rashmi Jha.
We are providing hands-on experiential learning grounded by theory in semiconductors.
Rashmi Jha Professor, UC College of Engineering and Applied Science
“In this lab, students work on various semiconductor process equipment and handle silicon wafers and learn the job responsibilities of technicians and process engineers working in a semiconductor fabrication facility, similar to the ones Intel is building in Ohio,” Jha said.
“When it comes to semiconductor manufacturing, hands-on experience is very critical so students know how to operate equipment and develop new processes that they learn in the classroom,” Jha said.
Students learn topics such as:
- How circuits and other electronics are designed.
- The working principles and installation of manufacturing equipment.
- Advanced testing and measuring.
“We are providing hands-on experiential learning grounded by theory in semiconductors,” Jha said.
Students also learn about the supply chain for semiconductors, security and trust issues and the sustainability of materials and processes used in making them.
Co-op is our signature program. We take the principles of classroom instruction and apply them to real-world problems.
Gautam Pillay Associate Dean, UC College of Engineering and Applied Science
UC is also part of a Midwest Semiconductor Network composed of 31 universities across four states. This group collaboration is designed to support the development of microchip manufacturing and help the United States compete. To that end, this month they established a new advisory board for the semiconductor industry to harness their collective research potential.
UC has a long tradition of meeting industry needs dating back to 1906 when it established the world’s first cooperative education program, dean Pillay said.
Today, UC is a leader in co-op in which students divide the year between dedicated classroom instruction and full-time employment in their chosen field. During their co-op, students earn $10,500 per semester on average.
“Co-op is our signature program. We take the principles of classroom instruction and apply them to real-world problems,” Pillay said.
Besides semiconductors, Pillay said UC is partnering with industry in robotics manufacturing, microelectronics, industrial artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, among other fields.
“That positions us not just to respond to Intel but to other manufacturers who are choosing to relocate to Ohio,” Pillay said.
Featured image at top: UC students work in the Mantei Center Cleanroom, where they learn the fundamentals of microchip fabrication and other skills. Photo/Corrie Mayer/CEAS Marketing
Intel Corp. plans to build microchip-fabrication plants in southwest Ohio off I-71 just north of Cincinnati. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
Next Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
UC joins national CyberCorps to defend America’s cyberspace
February 11, 2021
The University of Cincinnati received a $4 million award from the National Science Foundation to establish a Cybersecurity Scholarship for Service program.
Co-op launched UC alumnus’ Intel career
May 3, 2022
Intel vice president James Breisch got his start in computer engineering through UC's top-ranked co-op program.
UC engineering student demystifies crypto through co-op
December 17, 2021
University of Cincinnati student Jake Hemmerle pursued his interest in cryptocurrency in co-ops that promise to launch a career in computer science.
UC launches training for new Intel jobs
June 6, 2023
The University of Cincinnati is training the first of the approximately 20,000 workers Intel Corp. plans to hire at the microchip fabrication plants it is building in southwest Ohio.
Intel's Ohio plants promise opportunity for UC
January 25, 2022
Intel Corp. announced on Friday it will open two new semiconductor fabrication plants outside Columbus as part of an estimated $20 billion investment in Ohio. The three-year construction project represents the biggest private investment in the history of the state, offering the promise of new high-tech jobs for thousands of residents, including many graduates of the University of Cincinnati.
UC-developed AI offers insight into conversations using physiology alone
February 13, 2023
Could an app let you know if a first date is just not into you? Engineers at the University of Cincinnati say the technology might not be far off. They trained a computer to identify the type of conversation two people were having based on their physiological responses alone.
UC honors students to lawmakers: Here are ideas to fix public education
December 2, 2020
On Dec. 7, University of Cincinnati honors students in the Save our Schools! seminar will present Ohio political leaders with their best ideas to address some of the state’s thorniest education issues at an educational reform symposium, to be held via remote technology.
Traffic of tomorrow
June 10, 2020
More driverless cars. More networked roads. More naps. UC is helping change how we drive.
UC students see rapid rise with their startup idea
March 14, 2024
Two University of Cincinnati students gave themselves just 30 minutes to come up with an idea for a startup business. Not only did they succeed, their idea has won multiple pitch competitions in the past year. Joe Kuncheria Panjikaran and Aniruddhan Ramesh are the founders of PhizzIO (pronounced “fizz-e-oh”), a startup that’s creating a business-to-business solution to improve physical therapy.
UC students help orangutans stay heart healthy
August 9, 2021
UC students in mechanical engineering and industrial design team up to help the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden monitor the blood pressure of its great apes.