This work in progress innovative practice paper intends to report on the outline and the ongoing progress of the EU-project GreenChips-EDU, which has been started in October 2023, and intends to fundamentally redesign educational microelectronics programs especially but not limited to students and professionals. One of the major goals is the design of a new microelectronics master program to which six European universities are contributing. The contents of this program will be substantially enhanced with green electronics contents innovative teaching methods. Other work will be done in the field of a new MBA program, self-standing modules for professionals, and a new microelectronics bachelor designed by one university of applied sciences.

This innovative practice work-in-progress paper de-scribes an integrated course to introduce students to challenges in real world Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design. With the increasing complexity and speed of modern electronics, PCBs have become an integral part of electronic systems. Thus, acquiring knowledge in the field of PCB design is of great importance for aspiring engineers. At the same time the cost to manufacturing PCBs has fallen considerably, that even advanced processes are within reach of design courses taught at the university level. In the lectures, the PCB design workflow is introduced to establish a baseline between all learners. Part selection, schematic capture and creating a layout of a two-layer PCB is demonstrated live. Design rules are established, allowing more effective design reviews. The students acquire knowledge on advanced topics, such as multilayer technology, signal integrity and manufacturability. Exercises allow students to consolidate the most important learnings with impulse discussions. An integrated lab is successfully implemented and encourages students to practice PCB design. Using open-source software throughout the course lowers the barrier for students to get started with their designs,

This practice work-in-progress paper describes an innovative laboratory course designed to introduce a heterogenous cohort of undergraduate students from various fields of engineering and science to the principles of designing and analyzing complex electronic systems. The course utilizes a self-developed drum machine as a visual and acoustic project with a gradually increasing level of complexity throughout the lab sessions. Through active participation students acquire an understanding of SPICE simulations, test & measurement equipment, and printed circuit board (PCB) assembly. The course is mandatory for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in electrical, mechatronic, biomedical, computational, and information system engineering, and is also attended as an optional module by computer science and physics students. In the winter term of 2022, the course returned to the lab after the COVID-19 pandemic and was attended by more than 200 students. The laboratory experiments are supported by complementary activities, such as SPICE simulations of the circuits as preparation, and lab reports written in LaTeX to introduce the students to scientific writing. Instructional videos and consultation hours are offered to assist with SPICE simulation and LaTeX. During the physical lab sessions, students work in groups of three in a traditional laboratory environment, with student tutors available to provide guidance offered in the form of minimal help. Overall, the presented lab course is an innovative and engaging method of teaching electronic systems. The self-developed drum machine provides a visually and audibly stimulating project, allowing students to learn practical skills and develop their theoretical knowledge.

This Innovative Practice Work in Progress Paper presents a comprehensive approach to convert an undergrad hands-on electronics lab to an e-learning experience. Special care was taken to make the format interactive as well as to encourage teamwork between students. The conversion was made to conform with the social distancing measures implemented as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of relying on pre-recorded lessons, the lab was offered through live video sessions. Multiple cameras were used to make it easy for students to follow the instructor performing the experiment. Students worked together in teams they had chosen at the beginning of the semester throughout the entire course, giving team members the opportunity to get to know each other or strengthen existing bonds. During the live sessions, the teams were repeatedly sent to breakout rooms to discuss and vote on questions related to the execution of the experiments and the measurement results. The votes, which were carried out using the Moodle learning management system (LMS), were then discussed in the plenary, and the course of the experiment was adjusted accordingly. Using data of student participation from the LMS and the results of a detailed survey, the success of the implemented measures can be proven empirically. 88.2 % of students found that the interactive elements helped them to stay concentrated during the live sessions. 79.6 % agreed that the breakout rooms improved cooperation within their team and 72.8 % plan to stay in touch with their team members.

Charge pump circuits are currently becoming a realistic alternative to the switching regulators in high voltage generation applications, especially in fully integrated circuit systems. This paper discusses several stabilization methods to improve voltage performance and robustness of integrated high voltage charge pumps. All the discussion and measurements are based on a monolithic integrated high voltage charge pump chip adopting an innovative circuit architecture and advanced clock scheme to overcome drawbacks of conventional charge pump circuit architectures. The possibility to integrate the stabilizing parts into the entire circuit system is also analyzed.