Tech Giants Nurture Homegrown Talent as Lam Research Crowns National Semiconductor Champions
In a significant boost to India’s burgeoning semiconductor ambitions, Lam Research Corp. has unveiled the winners of its premier national engineering competition, highlighting a surge of student innovation aimed at one of the world’s most critical industries.
The Lam Research Challenge 2025, one of India’s first exclusive systems engineering contests focused on semiconductor equipment manufacturing, concluded this week after drawing nearly 7,000 participants from 474 colleges across 24 states. The competition underscores a concerted push to bridge the industry’s talent gap by immersing students in complex, real-world engineering problems.
Winning Teams Emerge from Top Tech Institutes
The top prize was secured by a quartet from Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology: Ashish Negi, Shivam Kumar Jha, Swayam Bansal, and Sai Tejaswi. The first runners-up were Anubhav Anand, Anumula Bharath Kumar, Daksh Sambhare, and Smit Kadu from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. Third place was awarded to Harshan J, Mohammed Rehan Tadpatri, Thareesh Prabakaran, and Thiruchalvan Thiyagarajan from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut.
The winners will share a total prize pool of 10 lakh INR, with select participants offered exclusive internships at Lam Research India.
Beyond Competition: Building an Innovation Pipeline
Now in its second year, the challenge requires participants to integrate hardware, software, and systems thinking with project management agility to solve authentic semiconductor industry challenges. It forms a cornerstone of Lam Research’s broader strategy to cultivate a skilled technical workforce in India.
“The Lam Research Challenge has evolved into more than a systems engineering competition,” said Rangesh Raghavan, corporate vice president and general manager of Lam Research India. “Through problem-solving and transformative learning, we strive to inspire the spirit of innovation and help foster future talent for the semiconductor industry. Congratulations to this year’s winners and all the bright students who made the competition a success.”
The initiative is designed to provide hands-on experience, directly connecting academic theory with practical application in a high-stakes field.
Virtual Training Grounds Prepare Next-Gen Engineers
The competition is supported by Lam’s deployment of its Semiverse® Solutions courseware across Indian universities. This platform provides a virtual nanofabrication environment, allowing students to gain experience with advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes in a simulated setting, thereby upskilling the future engineering workforce.
This annual challenge represents Lam Research’s latest investment in fostering local collaboration and innovation. As global and domestic demand for semiconductor expertise intensifies, such programs are increasingly viewed as vital for building a sustainable talent pipeline to power India’s strategic technological growth.
Key Quotes:
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Rangesh Raghavan, Lam Research India: “The Lam Research Challenge has evolved into more than a systems engineering competition. Through problem-solving and transformative learning, we strive to inspire the spirit of innovation and help foster future talent for the semiconductor industry.”
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From the article: “The competition underscores a concerted push to bridge the industry’s talent gap by immersing students in complex, real-world engineering problems.”
