IC Design Research Intern

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.

Stipend: $1,500 per month.

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 (Subject to Changes)

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

About Imperial Global Singapore (IGS) and IN-CYPHER:

Imperial Global Singapore (IGS) is the formal legal entity and full subsidiary of Imperial College London (Imperial) in Singapore, to undertake research and innovation projects in collaboration with universities, industry, government, and third-sector partners from across the Singapore ecosystem and ASEAN region.

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:

Informal enquiries are greatly welcome and can be directed to Dr Viktor Schlegel

Questions about the recruitment process, should go to the HR at Imperial Global Singapore