UPV researchers promote a paid master's degree as a "talent factory" in integrated photonics

VALENCIA, Apr. 30 (EUROPA PRESS) -

Researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) are promoting the creation of the PIC-UPV Chair and a paid master's degree that will have the objective of becoming a "talent factory" in integrated photonics and connecting university teaching with companies in the sector.

The master's degree seeks to meet the needs of a professional ecosystem where talent "is very scarce", despite the fact that the global offer is "very attractive and competitive", according to those responsible for the initiative in a statement. In this sense, the training program arises in a context where integrated photonics is a "strategic asset" for the Government of Spain with the "bet" on the PERTE Chip program for microelectronics and semiconductors.

Integrated photonics refers to the set of semiconductor technologies that use light for applications in very diverse sectors such as telecommunications, automotive, consumer electronics, artificial intelligence, data centers, biosensors, internet of things, defense, space or finance, among others.

In the future, this photonic circuit technology will be "key" in reducing traffic accidents, as it will facilitate autonomous driving, as well as in the rapid detection of diseases and infections.

Specifically, the PIC-UPV Chair focuses on the development of education, training and research activities on photonic integration technologies, photonic integrated circuits - in English, PICs - and their applications.

All this through a training program with 40 places in a UPV degree for students who are "guaranteed" to stay in a company. In addition, the master's degree incorporates "transversal" training in aspects of business and entrepreneurship, in the line set by the directors of the chair, who founded the companies Photonics and iPronics, both 'spin-off' UPV VLC.

Within the master's degree, the UPV has the participation of five companies: VLC Photonics, iPronics Programmable Photonics, SPARC Foundry, Ommatidia Lidar and CalSens. All of them, "leading" entities in their sector at an international level and located in different Spanish cities.

Furthermore, the organization of the Chair foresees that more companies will join progressively and after the completion of the project. Regarding timing, the activities of the chair began in the month of March and will continue for three years.

At a global level, the PIC-UPV Chair will deploy 4.25 million euros of public funds from the PERTE Chip, along with 750,000 euros of private contribution from participating companies.

Similarly, a parallel directed research program has been deployed in which 20 people with different profiles will participate for three years. Some jobs such as doctoral students, doctors and technicians that have already been published and are designed to continue permanently after the professorship.

The design or manufacture of microlenses for chip encapsulation, 3D nanoprinting for encapsulation and testing, or the development of programmable hardware and software architectures for photonic processors are some of the technical areas that will be addressed during the Chair's research program.

The director of the PIC-UPV Chair, José Capmany, has assured that the program's desire is to be "sustainable and become a tool to respond to professional demand through talent."

"From the beginning, the idea was to build the foundations of a training program with a vocation for permanence, beyond the three years of the current project financed by PERTE Chip and the companies," he noted.

In this sense, he has pointed out that the "natural continuation" after this chair is for them to "connect" with the participating companies and the sector to develop their professional careers in integrated photonics.

For his part, the UPV professor, Pascual Muñoz, has defended that this paid master's degree is "betting on future talent" and, at the same time, covering a "current need", since companies in the photonics sector have between "five and ten open positions."

"The PERTE Chip Chairs program will allow us to professionally train their future employees together with companies, a necessary symbiosis in this sector," he assured.