USask collaborates with Siemens, Microchip Technology, and Mitacs to help build Canada’s future semiconductor workforce

When people around the world think about the semiconductor industry, Saskatoon, Sask., may not immediately come to mind—but that’s quickly changing, as the city’s “Silicon Prairie” reputation continues to grow.

Playing a significant role in the success of Saskatchewan’s burgeoning tech sector are unique collaborations between partners in academia, industry, and government-supported innovation, who are working together to strengthen Canada’s semiconductor talent pipeline through hands-on curriculum development and industry engagement.

“Building on the momentum of our July expansion of the Siemens Saskatoon R&D hub, the region has solidified its role as a strategic centre of excellence for Siemens’ global industrial AI strategy,” said Dr. Aaron Genest (PhD), technical director, Siemens’ EDA, Siemens Digital Industries Software.

“By deepening our collaboration with the University of Saskatchewan, Microchip, and Mitacs, we are positioning this community at the forefront of AI-driven semiconductor design. We are proud to invest in the local workforce and provide the tools and mentorship that will allow Saskatchewan’s innovators to compete and win on a global stage."

An example of this innovative collaboration includes two new courses that are now offered to University of Saskatchewan (USask) electrical engineering graduate studies students. Through funding from national innovation not-for-profit Mitacs, EDA (electronic design automation) industry experts from Siemens in Saskatoon and Microchip Technology Canada are providing hands-on learning opportunities to prepare USask students with practical semiconductor design skills that align with current industry needs, thereby accelerating their workforce readiness. 

“This collaboration demonstrates how partnerships between universities and global technology leaders can help build a strong talent pipeline and support the growth of Saskatchewan's high-tech sector. By working together, we are creating opportunities that benefit students, industry, and the broader community,” said Dr. Li Chen (PhD), a professor of electrical and computer engineering at USask’s College of Engineering.

The Analog Mixed Signal (AMS) course is a recent internship curriculum development project that was initiated by Siemens’ EDA and USask in partnership with Microchip Canada. The first iteration of the eight-month course began in the fall of 2025 and concluded in August 2026. Students gained hands-on experience while sharing office space with applications engineers at the Siemens office in Saskatoon, working with the same Siemens’ EDA tools that are used throughout the semiconductor industry. Engineers from Siemens and Microchip Canada also contributed to the course by providing guest lectures and real-world industry perspectives, helping to bridge classroom learning and professional practice. The course was designed to be sustainable, reusable, and scalable so that future students and post-secondary institutions in Saskatchewan, across the country, and around the world can benefit in the future from the developed materials.

Another new course, Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI), is also an internship curriculum development project initiated by Microchip Canada and USask in partnership with Siemens. The VLSI course began in September 2026, following the same experiential and embedded-skills training model as the AMS course, including providing USask graduate-level student interns with access to industry office space in Saskatoon. The VLSI initiative is focused on modernizing undergraduate digital design education to better reflect contemporary semiconductor industry workflows. 

“Semiconductors are the foundation of nearly every major technology trend shaping the world today, including AI, communications, industrial automation, aerospace, and automotive innovation,” said Kevin So, vice-president of Microchip’s communications business unit. “Microchip believes strong partnerships between industry and academia are critical to building Canada’s future workforce. Our collaboration with USask provides students with exposure to modern semiconductor development practices while strengthening awareness of the plentiful career paths available in this industry.”

Dr. Nancy Turner (PhD), USask’s interim associate provost, Teaching Innovation and Strategic Initiatives, said the partnership between academia and industry strengthens Saskatchewan's growing semiconductor ecosystem, helps address the global demand for highly skilled semiconductor engineers, creates a replicable model for industry-university curriculum development that could be expanded to other institutions, and supports Canada’s innovation and talent development objectives in advanced microelectronics and chip design.

“This collaboration draws on the strengths of Saskatchewan and our connections here to further strengthen the province, Canada, and beyond,” she said.

"Saskatchewan has been clear about what it’s working toward: a skilled workforce, a strong tech economy, and talented people who choose to build their careers here,” said Dr. Stephen Lucas (PhD), CEO of Mitacs. “Mitacs is helping deliver on that by connecting highly skilled USask graduate students with Siemens and Microchip engineers, on the same tools the industry uses, right in Saskatoon. Semiconductors matter to Canada’s future, and Saskatchewan is showing it can compete and lead.”