Making ATE accessible for academic institutions

Traditionally, automated test equipment (ATE) manufacturers have been producing test systems to meet the needs of the electronic industry and research organizations. There is however another fairly large ATE market that has not been addressed by ATE-educational institutes and universities. Issues related to the electronic test equipment for educational institutions are discussed in this paper. It identifies the requirements to implement a test engineering program in the university environment, the challenges that face both university and industry, and strategies that can be adopted to meet these requirements. It provides a general roadmap that allows customization to suit emerging test engineering developments that may occur future. Consideration is given to a pragmatic, and cost effective collaboration between the academic and industrial worlds.