The Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, in association with the Electronics & Communication Engineering Students’ Association (ECSA), organized a two-day hands-on workshop titled “AI-Driven Embedded Hardware Design: A Launch Pad for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship” on 10th and 11th September 2025.

The workshop was conducted by Mr. Vaibhav Sugandhi, Founder & CEO of Eartkey Innovation Pvt. Ltd., Co-creator at Linked Frequency, and Project Associate at IIIT Dharwad, Hubli-Dharwad. An entrepreneur and PCB design engineer, Mr. Sugandhi has been actively engaged in the Electronic System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) sector since 2016. He has designed and manufactured industrial electronic products for Tata Marcopolo, Samsung, Indian Railways, and several startups. With over 3,000 students trained across India, he is also a passionate industry coach and public speaker.

The two-day workshop introduced participants to fundamentals of PCB design, design rules, layout principles, and best practices. Sessions also emphasized AI integration in hardware design, focusing on how AI and ML are transforming design automation, error detection, and optimization in EDA tools.

The discussions expanded to career opportunities and entrepreneurship in the ESDM sector. A hands-on session with AI-powered EDA tools enabled students to apply PCB and embedded hardware design concepts in real-time. The workshop concluded with an overview of the end-to-end embedded hardware design process, connecting academic knowledge with industrial applications.

A total of 68 students and 2 faculty members participated actively in the event. The sessions were highly interactive, combining expert talks, live demonstrations, and practical exercises. Students expressed that the training enhanced their understanding of PCB design, embedded systems, and the scope of AI in hardware innovation.