IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine - Q3 2022 - 48

inclusion of Electronics in career guidance, to motivate
high school students and to upskill and reskill workers.
Specialized diplomas recognized by companies promising
reasonable pay packages should be further developed
specifically for emerging regions.
In this context the IEEE is highly sensitive, and has
already provided resources for STEM pre-university
education through platforms such as the IEEE Learning
Network (ILN). The IEEE could effectively serve as an
international reference, also by developing expressly
designed materials and tools, freely accessible by teenagers,
for the worldwide implementation of an efficient
information campaign.
5. Conclusion
The paper discussed the effects of COVID-19 on the ecosystem
of the semiconductor industry and the reaction of
governments and companies through global investment
programs and policies aimed at building new factories
and facilities. However, strengthening semiconductor
manufacturing infrastructures alone will not be enough,
if this is not accompanied by a policy aimed at inspiring,
encouraging and motivating the training of young students
who need to be informed about the opportunities
and the relevance of electronic engineering for our society
and economy. The availability of good engineers is
indeed one of the key elements that makes the difference
in this highly competitive market, even without building
new fabs. According to [44], 90% of the labor force in the
United States and South Korea is composed of high school
graduates (as of 2015) and of more than 98% in Japan and
Taiwan. Although China's level of innovation is high, China
currently cannot compete effectively with developed
countries due to its low education rates (30%). Moreover,
while U.S. accounts for only 12% of global chip production
in 2020 (down from 37% in 1990), U.S. companies account
for 47% of global chip sales (over South Korea 20%, Japan
10%, Europe 10%, Taiwan 7%, and China 5%). U.S. companies
comparative advantage is engineering12.
Our future is more and more technology-driven: new
materials have to be found and their physical properties
must be optimized and engineered to obtain a piece of
technology usable for data and energy conversion, storage
and transmission, but the current shortage of IC's
was preceded by a shortage of electronic engineers that
continues until today. The demand for electronic engineers
right now exceeds the number of graduates, and
the gap would be more severe in the future. National
12Apple, for instance, has recognized that working closely with software
and hardware engineers enables the design of more energy-efficient
laptops and desktops, with better performance and new features and,
possibly, cheaper. For this reason, Apple now has its own integrated circuit
designers and having in-house chip designers could be the future
policy of leading high-tech companies.
48
IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE
investments in university are needed to improve infrastructure
and to create new faculty positions.
However, we have seen how the professional figure
of the electronic engineer, and his fundamental role in
digital transformation, is not adequately understood.
The time has hence come to intensify partnership between
government institutions, universities, professional
and volunteering associations, and companies
for a joint effort to motivate, upskill and reskill students
and workers.
Of course, a strong, long-lasting motivating campaign
cannot guarantee that a teenager is necessarily encouraged
enough to invest his or her life and career in this
field, as every person has his or her own inclinations
and may or may not develop an interest. However, an
information program is needed, at least to allow a teenager
to consciously choose their future work by evaluating
all the opportunities that the field of electronics and
semiconductor offer. IEEE in this framework could play
an important dissemination role.
The electron has been for decades and still is the most
efficient and most economical physical means of enabling
telecommunications and computers, that characterized
the information and communication age and opened the
doors to the digital era. If another cheaper, faster, and even
more efficient physical medium is found in the future, electronic
engineers will likely still design applications for it.
Acknowledgments
The author acknowledges the fruitful discussions with
colleagues Francesco Della Corte, Giovanni Ghione, Andrea
Lacaita, Ernesto Limiti, Alessandro De Gloria, Carlo
Samori, and Paolo Pavan. Moreover, he is indebted with
the anonymous reviewers for their highly constructive
comments and suggestions.
Salvatore Pennisi received the laurea
degree in electronic engineering in 1992
and the Ph.D. in electrical engineering in
1997, both from the University of Catania,
Italy
and is now full professor of
electronics at the same university, teaching
courses for bachelor and master degrees and coordinating
the master degree in Electronic Engineering.
His main research interests include circuit theory and
integrated CMOS analog design with emphasis on lowvoltage
and current-mode techniques, multi-stage amplifiers
with related frequency compensation, data converters
and the analysis of high-frequency distortion in analog circuits.
More recently, his research activities have involved
driving circuits and techniques for liquid crystal displays,
circuits for efficient energy harvesting and monolithic
power conversion circuits in GaN technology.
THIRD QUARTER 2022
IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine - Q3 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine - Q3 2022
