Who we are

EUROPRACTICE was launched by the European Commission in 1995 as a successor of EUROCHIP (1989-1995) to enhance European industrial competitiveness in the global market. Over the past 25 years, EUROPRACTICE has provided the industry and academia with a platform to develop smart integrated systems, ranging from advanced prototype design to volume production.

We have broadened our scope by working not only with customers from the European Union, but also with clients from Eastern Europe, the Middle-East, Africa and Russia. In January 2019, the new Horizon 2020 project has started: Next EUROPRACTICE eXtended Technologies and Services (NEXTS), which will enlarge the existing technology portfolio with power electronics and smart system integration.

Today, our service consists of two main offerings:

• Prototyping, system integration and small volume production for industry and academia offered by EUROPRACTICE-IC, uniting four partners: imec, CMP, Fraunhofer IIS and Tyndall National Institute.
• CAD tools for academia only offered by partner STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.             >> visit STFC website

Our partners

The five EUROPRACTICE partners act as the prime interface between customers and technology providers. Each partner offers a unique set of services, such as granting customers access to particular design tool vendors, foundries, assembly and test houses.

Lead Partner, MPW Service and Communications
Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum, Leuven, Belgium

Imec, Europe’s largest independent micro-electronics research centre, founded in 1984 by the Flemish Government, is one of the largest in the world in the field of microelectronics. It brings together nearly 3 500 researchers from all over the world to make the impossible possible in many application areas.

From 1995 until now, imec is the leading partner of EUROPRACTICE and is responsible for the ASIC part of the EUROPRACTICE-IC service, organizing MPW runs in various advanced IC technologies ranging from X-FAB to TSMC. It also offers More-than-Moore technologies with a special focus on MEMS, photonics and microfluidics.

EUROPRACTICE board members

Dr. Romano Hoofman, Project Manager

Paul Malisse

Design Tools and Training Courses
Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, UK

STFC is one of Europe’s largest multi-disciplinary research organisations: It has over 1 900 employees engaged in a wide range of scientific and technological research. The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) is the largest of STFC’s Research Institutes. It has 40 years of experience supporting Electronic System Design Automation tools and routes to fabrication for universities and enterprises.

Since 1995 STFC has operated and managed the EUROPRACTICE Design Tool Services, currently supporting more than 600 academic institutions in 43 countries in the European region. It also leads the advanced design flow training activity.

EUROPRACTICE Board Members

Dr. John McLean

Dr. Clive Holmes

MPW Service
Fraunhofer-Institut für Integrierte Schaltungen IIS, Erlangen, Germany

Fraunhofer is Europe’s largest application-oriented research organization. It employs a staff of more than 25 000 and its research activities are conducted by 72 institutes and research units at locations throughout Germany. Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS is a world leader in applied research, providing microelectronic and IT system solutions.

For EUROPRACTICE customers, Fraunhofer provides access to and support for Application-Specific Components. It is responsible for access and prototype fabrication in technologies from ams (Austria), GLOBALFOUNDRIES (Germany, Singapore) and IHP (Germany).

EUROPRACTICE Board Member

Thomas Drischel

MPW Service and Business Development Circuits Multi-Projects, Grenoble, France

CMP is a Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) service organization in ICs, Photonic & Smart Power ICs and MEMS for prototyping, as well as low volume production. CMP enables prototypes fabrication on industrial processes. It also offers its technical expertise in providing MPW and related services for universities, research laboratories and industrial companies.

CMP offers EUROPRACTICE customers access to MPW runs in advanced IC technologies from, among others, STMicroelectronics (France) and ams (Austria). In addition, CMP is responsible for prototype fabrication in More-than-Moore technologies from STMicroelectronics (Italy), ams (Austria) and CEA LETI (France).

EUROPRACTICE Board Member

Dr. Jean-Christophe Crebier

System Integration
Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Ireland

Tyndall National Institute is Ireland’s largest research organization, which employs over 500 researchers and engineers. It collaborates with industry and academia to transform research into products in the core market areas of communications, energy, environment and health. The institute hosts full CMOS, MEMS and III-V fabrication facilities, as well as advanced integration and packaging facilities.

Tyndall provides EUROPRACTICE customers easy access to smart system integration and packaging services. The customers can therefore source the complete sub-system supply chain, from devices through to packaging and application prototyping.

EUROPRACTICE Board Member

Dr. Peter O’Brien