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Building the Community |
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Newsletter November 2006 |
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NMI Private Equity Guide |
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Annual Awards Dinner and AGM |
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We can hardly believe that it’s that time of year again when we gather the great and the good of the microelectronics industry together to present our work and host a celebration dinner. This year is extra special as it’s our 10th anniversary and we will be holding activities at The Thistle Hotel, Marble Arch, London.
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assist the industry and improve investor readiness. Many new entrepreneurs often do not have the experience of acquiring funding or lack the knowledge of all the processes involved - this handbook is intended to help fill that knowledge gap. It contains articles from companies at different stages of financial maturity such as Critical Blue, Icera Semiconductor and CSR together with insights and tips from sources of money. The handbook is FREE and can be downloaded from the NMI website. |
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NMI is delighted to report the success of a joint proposal with Members of the UK Electronics Alliance for a Knowledge Transfer Network spanning the electronics industry in the UK. DTI will invest £3 million in the EKTN to aid knowledge transfer in this electronics-wide initiative. NMI continues to promote the key contribution that semiconductor products play within the industry and this was a strong section of the proposal. The key purpose of the EKTN is to help drive growth, innovation and technology development for the future of the UK’s electronics industry—which is neatly aligned with NMI’s mission for the microelectronics sector. Derek Boyd, NMI CEO, has been appointed to the Board of the EKTN on behalf of the UK Electronics Alliance and David Kynaston has been announced as Chairman. An active search has been conducted for the position of CEO and the interview process is underway—further announcements will be made on the successful candidate in the near future. |
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“Meet the CEO” with Frans van Houten, CEO NXP |
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On September 1st 2006 Philips Semiconductor was reborn and became NXP: a new company employing over 37000 staff in more than 20 countries, 25000 patents and revenues of 4.77 billion Euros in 2005. Derek Boyd spoke to NXP’s CEO to talk about the excitement, challenges and outlook from this new global force in the world of semiconductors. And talking of CEO’s... |
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Manufacturing News Update |
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Global Stockroom: Our virtual warehouse for sourcing and selling equipment spares between fabs is now ready for general use right across the globe. This system allows fabs to locate parts from other sites and to sell their own unwanted stock. The two key benefits are cost reduction and spares availability. Please visit www.globalstockroom.com for more details or contact David.law@nmi.org.uk.
Fab Benchmarking: We are currently updating a number of areas within our benchmarking database especially around manufacturing capabilities and practices. Reports will be available to those who contribute so if you’d like to participate contact us.
Call for Action Our newest offering for manufacturing is a request system which allows members to ask for assistance on any topic. NMI will then make links with others within the industry using our knowledge, databases and contacts to find solutions or share ideas. We currently have a number of groups working together that deliver real benefits to those involved. Current project teams include: · Quartz use and best known methods - Equipment Engineering · Small Fabs - Manufacturing · Scrap Reduction at Low Cost - Manufacturing · Silicon Market Conditions - Purchasing · Training Spend Analysis - Training · Salary Benchmarking - HR For more details contact us. |
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Design Verification: Experts Wanted |
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NMI is about to embark on its first study into verification with the University of Bristol to identify the weaknesses and challenges for UK/Ireland based organisations. The expected outcome will be a roadmap detailing a coherent set of objectives for verification research here, leading to targeted and applied projects with closer cooperation amongst leading domestic design groups, tool suppliers and academia. If your organisation would like to take part in this activity please contact us for more details. |
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Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network (EKTN) is approved: CEO wanted! |
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On-the-Radar: NMI Technical Networks Schedule |
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Training & Education |
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Fabless IT Study Completed |
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We are pleased to announce the early schedule of technical events for the next 12 months. Details will follow nearer the time however we are always on the look-out for speakers and sponsors so if you’re interested to take part in one of our much acclaimed technical sessions please contact us by clicking on the links below.
2007 Schedule of Technical Events Feb Design Verification (mixed signal theme) March Failure Analysis, Characterisation and Reliability April Reconfigurable Platforms and FPGA Design June Embedded Software June IC Packaging July Analogue, Mixed Signal and RF Design Sept System Level Design |
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CEESI Wins Global Industry Award: We’re very pleased to announce that the NMI backed CEESI programme has won an award from EuroAsia Semiconductor for Educational Initiative of the Year 2006. The partnership between industry and 10 UK universities is innovative and gives practicing engineers an accessible route to receive professional development training or educational credits that lead to an MSc level qualification. Click here for more details of the initiative. |
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We have now completed a research study to look into the use of IT systems within the fabless supply chain. The work was carried out in conjunction with the University of Bath and looks at contemporary use of IT and how systems can be used in a strategic and tactical manner for competitive advantage. NMI members can get a FREE copy of the study by contacting us. |
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Research News: The Grand Challenges in Design |
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EPSRC has funded a Network Grant to support the UK microelectronic design research community in developing a common vision for the future of research. A Grand Challenge represents a commitment by a significant scientific community to collaborate and work together towards a common goal for a 10-20 year timeframe. Once the Grand Challenges themselves have been defined, a set of research proposals will be defined which will contribute to their potential realisation.
See the grand challenges website for further details or contact Julie Stockwin if you would like to contribute to the process. |
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European Projects Update |
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IST 2006 Conference 21-23 November 2006 Helsinki, Finland
EPISTEP at IST 2006
Full details of EPISTEP’s activities can be found at www.epistep.org |
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DTI have announced the priority areas for the Autumn 2006 and Spring 2007 competitions for Collaborative R&D funding. The Autumn 2006 competition will launch and formally open for applications on 2nd November 2006 at the Innovate 2006 conference & exhibition.
See this part of the DTI web site for further details |
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Public Funding: Autumn and Spring Competitions |
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To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here. E-mail us at info@nmi.org.uk or call (01506) 401210 |
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Recruitment |
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With the upturn in fortunes for many of our members we’re pleased to say that many are recruiting again. Additionally we also have a senior test development engineer looking for a position in Scotland —all the details can be found on our recruitment pages. |
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Venture finance is a crucial activity for many new companies and therefore we’ve produced a handbook to |