Open Core Protocol International Partnership Expands Its University Program

PORTLAND, Ore.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—May 24, 2004— Open Core Protocol International Partnership (OCP-IP), the association providing a common standard for intellectual property core interfaces, or sockets, that facilitate "plug and play" SoC design, today announced an expansion of its world-class university program. The expansion incorporates a bibliography of all major papers and sources in the SoC space, listed on the OCP-IP Web site. This innovative service allows students and researchers to quickly and easily locate critical research documents and papers for use in studies and research projects. In addition, the expansion includes a new section on the OCP-IP Web site listing opportunities for direct university collaboration with OCP-IP. The listing breaks new ground by linking real-world commercial activity with university research programs. Opportunities for collaboration are sponsored and defined by industry leaders in OCP-IP Working Groups.

OCP-IP University Program members receive free access to the members-only portion of the Web site, free software tools, free technical support and training that is packaged and ready for incorporation into a course or immediate independent use by students. The program has proven ideal for both undergraduate training and helping faculty augment graduate programs and classes. By providing these numerous free benefits, this low-cost program avoids the budget constraints experienced by universities. Many of the world's most prestigious universities and SoC research centers are already members of the program including: Tampere University of Technology (Finland), University of British Columbia, Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), UC Berkeley, NTHU (Taiwan), STARC (Japan), ECSI, CNFM (France) and others.

"Innovation for tomorrow starts with the university students and research organizations of today," said Ian Mackintosh, president, OCP-IP. "OCP-IP is proud to support this bibliographical listing to make finding relevant research material easier, and we are excited to offer students the opportunity to work with our expert Working Groups on real-world applications."

OCP-IP recently surveyed its university community, following up on the hundreds of copies of the OCP specification already requested by universities. Most respondents confirmed they have utilized the specification in a university project. More than ninety-five percent of respondents plan to use OCP in future course work and projects.

"As members of the OCP-IP University Program, we are pleased to see the group continuing their leadership role and supporting innovators of the future," said Andre Ivanov, professor, University of British Columbia. "We are proud to be members of the University Program and look forward to continued collaboration."

"We are delighted to play the lead role in the development of the bibliography," said Timo D. Hamalainen, professor, Tampere University of Technology. "We look forward to continuing this collaboration and furthering the common goals of universities and commercial enterprises through OCP-IP."

The full bibliography is freely available on the public OCP-IP Web site at www.ocpip.org/university/biblio_main. To view opportunities for collaboration with OCP-IP, universities should visit www.ocpip.org/university/opportunities.

About OCP-IP

The OCP International Partnership Association, Inc. (OCP-IP(R)) was announced in December 2001 to promote and support the open core protocol (OCP) as the complete socket standard that ensures rapid creation and integration of interoperable virtual components. OCP-IP's Governing Steering Committee participants are: Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC), Toshiba Semiconductor Group (including Toshiba America TAEC), Sonics, and other industry leading companies. OCP-IP is a non-profit corporation delivering the first fully supported, openly licensed core-centric protocol that comprehensively fulfills system-level integration requirements. The OCP facilitates IP core reusability and reduces design time and risk, along with manufacturing costs for SoC designs. VSIA endorses the OCP socket, and OCP-IP is an Adoption Group of the VSI Alliance. For additional background and membership information, visit www.OCPIP.org.

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OCP-IP
Ian Mackintosh, 650-938-2500 ext. 106  
ian@ocpip.org
  or
VitalCom 
Joe Basques, 650-366-8212 ext. 202  
joe@vitalcompr.com