The Reconfigurable Computing Applied to the Learning in the Computer Engineering Program

The reconfigurable computing has an increasing importance in the computational solutions because of its two mains characteristics: performance and flexibility. This became possible with the technological advance of the programmable logic devices (PLDs) and the field programmable gate array (FPGAs), which makes possible an increasing level of system integration (hardware and software). This integration can allow the construction of a complex system in a single device, the system on chip (SoC) technology. This is a multidisciplinary area, because it involves digital systems projects (some time analog systems also), firmware and operational systems development, beyond the specific knowledge of the areas of the systems applications. For this reasons the reconfigurable computation became part of the computer engineer formation. It is imperative that the new professionals have complete domain of this technology to be able to integrate it in the new computational systems. These computational systems reach a wide range of applications, from high performance computing to embedded systems, personal and mobile computation, to entertainment and mobile communication. In this direction, we present the evolution that happened in the Computer Engineering Program at UnicenP from the adoption of the technology of PLDs and FPGAs in several courses, and the inclusion of a specific course of reconfigurable computing.