Embedded technologies — a fast track career for smart brains

Sudipta Dev / Mumbai

Enablers of smart devices which make our lives so much more easier, professionals trained in embedded systems technologies happen to be a rare commodity in the recruitment marketplace. Considering the vast scope of the field, ranging from telecom to consumer electronics to aerospace, the demand for embedded systems engineers for product development and application, will continue to grow in the years to come. According to an IDC report the international market as a whole expects product development worth $75 billion, which will require as many as 150,000 trained professionals in embedded systems development by the year 2005. While India is a known player in the software services space, the image of the country has been so far as a low-cost service provider. This is where embedded software development, which requires specialised skill sets, can make the difference. Not surprisingly, companies like Wipro, Sasken, Texas Instruments and Patni are all getting into the race which can give them higher billing rates. It is a sector promising a fast track career, which is only for the brightest and the best.

From handheld devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smart cell phones, to automobiles and rocket propellers, embedded computing systems are in the heart of all. The demand for embedded systems is in fact rising in the areas of integrated embedded solutions spanning across various industry verticals. “As the world is experiencing groundbreaking research in the area of hardware technology (e.g. Nano technology and Quantum Mechanics), packing more power into a single chip will become possible in the near future. Researchers are trying to implement more than one core in a single chip. Once these kind of chips become a reality, it will lead to further miniaturisation of the ICs. This in turn will pave the path for the development of SOCs (System on Chip),” says Dr Saratchandra Babu, programme co-ordinator, C-DAC Bangalore. The recruitment market will continuously need more and more trained professionals to meet the requirements of multiple industrial sectors.

While certifications and degrees are available in foreign universtities, there are very few high-end training providers offering courses focused on embedded software in India. “The demand for such courses could be well adjudged by the reports of Tata Consultancy Services and Cadence which say that to achieve the government targeted growth in the hardware sector, India will need around 20,000 engineers and the present output is only 350-400,” states Dr Babu. C-DAC offers a five-month full-time course consisting of seven modules and an industry relevant project of 160 hours. The students are electronics and computer engineers picked out through a three-stage nation-wide selection process. The tests focus on electronics concepts, aptitude and communication skills and each batch contains a mix of fresh as well as experienced engineers. It is necessary for all candidates to have good understanding of basic electronics and C programming.

Specialised training
The course is designed and conducted by experienced hardware and system software designers of C-DAC and the industry. The modules include Progra-mming Concepts; Real-time Oper-ating Systems (QXN, RT Lin-ux,VxWorks); Microcontrollers; Embe-dded Systems Progr-amming; Digital Signal Processing; and Embedded Comm-unication Systems. Advanced Digital Design and System Architecture are the additional modules. Adds Dr Babu, “The course provides equal emphasis on hardware and software. It has been designed to train bright electronics and computer engineers in the emerging areas of embedded systems. The USP of the programme is the fact that the course contents are regularly updated based on inputs provided by the embedded industry, academics and R&D organisations. Further, there is active contribution of industry experts in teaching high-end topics and current trends.”

C-DAC also conducts short-term courses and seminars for the corporate sector. Some of the industry relevant short-term training programmes conducted so far have focused on RISC-based embedded controllers and VLSI Design. “We have plans to conduct workshops on Linux in real-time and embedded systems; DSP Applications and Wireless communications,” informs Dr Babu. He feels that global career prospects for professionals in this field are the best in countries like Germany, France, the US, the UK and Japan in terms of requirements, while countries like China and India are also experiencing notable growth in this field.

Micromax Informatics has recently tied up with the University of California Irvine (UCI) Extension (continuing education arm of the varsity) to offer a 10-month certificate programme in embedded systems technology. Urmi Shah, the manager of Micromax Informatics centre at Colaba, in Mumbai, informs that the 10-month programme includes six months of training in India and four months at the UCI campus in the US. The basic qualifications are BSc, BE or MCA. The course fee is $2,000 for duration of the programme in India and $2,100 for the course modules to be conducted in the US.

Micromax is an IT solutions company which also provides high-end training in specialised IT domains. “We are a pure development company and training is a small division,” points out Shah, adding that the response to the course has been very good and the best students will be absorbed in the company after proving their competency. Presently there are 20 students doing this programme which was introduced in August last. Majority of them are freshers who want to pursue a high growth career in the field.

The course curriculum has been designed by both UCI and Micromax. Internships are also provided in the US, but are dependent on the economic climate and external market forces. To qualify for the embedded systems technologies professional certificate, it is necessary for the students to complete 15 units of the coursework with grade “C” or better in each course. A large part of embedded systems design involves programming in the C language therefore students are expected to have a working proficiency of the same. Five scholarships covering 50 percent of the programme cost will also be given per hundred student.

Embedded Linux
Linux has in recent times attracted the interest of embedded systems developers, primarily for two reasons—ownership of source code and the cost factor. Lineo, a global provider of embedded solutions, has recently introduced its training programmes on embedded Linux in the country and has aggressive plans for the future. “We have training partners in Bangalore (Park Controls, e-Cosmos) and Spider Systems in Pune. Lineo also has a tie-up with the University of Mysore through e-Cosmos to conduct training in their campus. We are also in touch with various universities to help them introduce embedded linux courses,” says Ajay Kapoor, country manager, Lineo India. Mysore university is the first varsity in the country to roll out a programme on embedded Linux. The company has also launched “Embedix World”, a technical training workshop series on embedded Linux for developers.

The company has also targeted the corporate sector. “Many corporates are already taking training from us while talks are in progress with others,” states Kapoor, adding that the prospects of students trained in this space is excellent because many organisations are moving towards embedded Linux, but are finding very few trained people. “In today’s scenario all companies are very tightly scheduled on their projects and cannot waste time on re-training the manpower,” reiterates Kapoor. It is albeit imperative for the courses to be industry specific. For this, all courses should be designed as per industry requirements so that and no retraining is required later.

So next time you tinker with your Palm Pilot, send a message through your cell phone, switch on the washing machine or adjust the timer on the microwave oven, remember there are many smart minds being trained to make life more easy for you.