Scholar Profile –
Nathan

What appeals to you about Electronics?

I think it is incredible just how integrated modern life is with electronics. We rely on electronics for communication, safety, transport, agriculture and our hobbies to list a few. You name an industry, there’s an electronics engineer involved somewhere in it. Personally, I want to make the world a safer place to live, and I believe I can contribute to that with the uses of electronic engineering.

Why did you want a scholarship with Infineon?

I was interested in the idea of IC design when I was introduced to assembly language early in my second year. It was something I wanted to familiarise myself with as it is a field constantly being innovated to be faster, safer and more energy efficient. The opportunity that my work would be contributing to more lives being saved on the road due to Infineon’s automotive IPs was something I couldn’t miss out on.

What type of work have you been involved with during your placement?

My placement so far has consisted of me joining the verification team at Infineon. I have learned all manners of systems, terminology and skills I never would have seen in a non-professional scenario. I’ve been shown how processors are developed and how each engineer in the pipeline contributes their fair share to the delivery of an IP. Before coming to Infineon, I had no idea about Verification as a concept, nor HDLs at all!

Through feedback from other students and the UKESF, I have learned that Verification is generally not a subject discussed within academia, despite its importance within projects – it is estimated that most projects spend 60-70% of their time verifying an IP – it is that important. It has made me seriously consider continuing on with Verification after my degree.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I’m currently learning to play the guitar and play all kinds of video games. Moving to Bristol has been a big step for me as I’ve never lived anywhere so huge before! Through my colleagues I’ve been introduced to Bouldering which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, and I’m constantly being introduced to new places. Just this week, I went to a video game bar for the first time!