The department asked four of us students to look into a question for them: should students in Electronic Systems Design and Innovation learn to design circuit boards and to solder as part of the programme? Neither is among the learning outcomes today. The report was meant to give the department a better basis for deciding on changes to the programme from autumn 2027.
What we found
We ran a survey among students in the programme. 43 % wanted more PCB design in the first two years, half thought it was fine as it is, and 7 % wanted less. For soldering, 27 % wanted more and 20 % wanted less.
We also talked to people who see the question from different sides:
- Students in technical student organisations (Orbit and Vortex) who design boards for their teams. One saw a clear gap in the programme. The other thought much of it can be learned when you need it, but that PCB design still belongs in the programme because it ties the circuit courses together.
- Omega Verksted, the student workshop. It used to run a two-day KiCad course for the department, with around 50 people each time, until the department stopped ordering it in 2023. The workshop also has the equipment: soldering stations, SMD rework stations, a reflow oven, a stencil printer and a pick-and-place machine.
- Industry: Nordic Semiconductor and Inission. Nordic stressed that boards are what the industry ends up making, so knowing the whole process, from simulation to a soldered board, is part of understanding electronics. Inission put good design practice first, especially designing boards so they are easy to test.
- Elprolab, the department’s electronics and prototype lab. They find that many students can’t explain why their design works or doesn’t, and rarely design with testing in mind.
We also compared with IELS2031, a bachelor course at NTNU that already covers circuit design, PCB layout, soldering and testing.
What we suggested
Five learning outcomes that cover the path from idea to finished product: good design rules, including noise and EMC; simulation and CAD tools; building, testing and verifying a manufactured board; and documenting the work.
We laid out four ways to fit it in: a PCB project in ESDA I or ESDA II, an elective like IELS2031 from the third year, a separate course, or PCB work in the existing project courses. We recommended the first two. In ESDA, the op-amp project on a breadboard would make way for a new project where you take the circuit from the project before it and build it on a PCB. Later in the programme, an elective would let those who want more go further.