INTERN - Integrated Circuit Design Research Intern

Job Title: IC Design Research Intern (Graduate)

Brief Description:

This internship offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of IC design, security and healthcare innovation, contributing to advanced research in a collaborative international environment. This intern will be paid a monthly allowance of $2,400.

Campus Location: CREATE Tower, 1 CREATE Way, Singapore

Duration: 6 – 9 months

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in the design, simulation, and testing of analog or digital ICs.
• Use industry-standard tools (e.g., SPICE, Cadence, Vivado, Design Compiler, etc.) for circuit design and debugging.
• Collaborate with the team on secure hardware design for medical devices.
• Analyse and interpret experimental data to refine circuit performance.
• Document research findings and contribute to presentations and publications.

Requirements

• Pursuing Master’s degree in IC Design / Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Experience in IC design (analog and/or digital) and familiarity with tools such as Cadence, VCS, ModelSim, etc.
• Knowledge of ASIC design flow, DFT, and circuit layout is an advantage.
• Strong analytical skills and a keen interest in interdisciplinary research.
• Effective communication skills and the ability to work in a team.
• Desirable to have coding/scripting skills in Python, MATLAB, C, C++, Pearl.
• Desirable to have knowledge in Machine Learning and hardware accelerators for Machine Learning.

Potential Topics for Internship

1)Ultra-low power hardware root of trust to secure IoMT.

Abstract: The evolution of personalized healthcare depends on secure and efficient data exchange through the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), which integrates medical devices with artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance healthcare delivery. However, critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities in IoMT devices threaten patient privacy and safety, especially in high-risk medical devices such as implantable cardiac defibrillators and glucose delivery systems. This project aims to develop a secure hardware platform tailored to resource-constrained IoMT devices, incorporating novel Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) as low-power cryptographic primitives for generating device-specific secret keys. By eliminating the need for secret key storage, these PUFs offer enhanced security and robustness against cyber threats.

2)Lightweight Protocols to Secure IoMT Devices for Personalized Healthcare.

Abstract: The rapid growth of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) highlights the critical need for secure communication protocols tailored to the unique requirements of resource-constrained implantable medical devices (IMDs). Traditional PUF-based authentication methods rely on verifier-stored CRPs, which are impractical for device-to-device (P2P) authentication in IoMT due to resource limitations and increased risks of impersonation attacks. This project will focus on development of novel lightweight, PUF-based mutual authentication and key exchange protocol for secure direct communication between IMDs and connected devices, ensuring robust security without requiring persistent key or CRP storage. The project will further explore PUF-based protocols for wearable proxies and hospital servers to augment security during emergencies, offering a comprehensive framework for next-generation personalized healthcare.

3)Ultra-low power smart computing platforms for secured IoMT Devices.

Abstract: As IoMT sensors increasingly adopt on-device intelligence through deep neural network (DNN) models, there is a pressing need for efficient hardware accelerators that support real-time analytics while ensuring robust embedded security. This project will explore the co-design of DNN accelerators optimized for resource-constrained IoMT devices, focusing on energy-efficient architectures that meet the power and latency demands of edge computing. The project will aim to address challenges such as intellectual property (IP) protection of deployed DNN models, resilience against model stealing attacks, and proactive defense mechanisms.

The successful candidates will join the research programme which represents a collaboration between the United Kingdom and Singapore and will be based at the newly established Imperial Global Singapore (IGS) housed within the unique CREATE campus.

IN-CYPHER, the inaugural research program of IGS in collaboration with NTU, addresses the growing connectivity of medical devices and their associated data. While these advancements enhance device performance, they also pose security challenges. IN-CYPHER focuses on security, privacy, and trust in healthcare technologies through four themes:

1. Protecting Implantable Active Devices
2. Securing Connected Wearables and Healthcare Systems
3. Algorithms for Security, Privacy, and Provenance
4. Clinical Innovation & Translation

For more information visit: Imperial/NTU CYber Protection for HEalthcaRe (IN-CYPHER) research programme

To apply

Please submit your CV and a brief cover letter below. The cover letter should highlight your expereince and intersts.

Questions about the recruitment process, should go to Paige Noyce, Associate Director [email protected].