THE RAPID PENETRATION and multiplying functions of mobile phones and the widespread adoption of wireless networks are helping us stay in contact with loved ones and colleagues, no matter where we are. These technological advances have revolutionised the way we live and work. Hong Kong consumers and companies have been keen to adopt wireless communications devices. Enterprises here are moving to the forefront of research, providing opportunities for engineers to get leading-edge opportunities. 'Wireless technology is important in Hong Kong. There are about 300 companies involved in wireless communications, 35 of these in the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks [HKSTP] alone,' said SW Cheung, vice-president of business development and technology support at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp. 'The market for advanced technology in China is huge, and it is important for Hong Kong to be a part of this trend.' The government-funded Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (Astri) has a mission to develop and transfer leading-edge technology to industry. Communications research is an important focus for Astri. 'Emerging wireless multimedia technologies such as WiMAX [worldwide interoperability of microwave access], UWB [ultra wideband for wireless consumer and network devices] and future versions of Wi-fi promise to lead to a new wave of devices whose marketing potential is immense,' said Chih-Lin I, vice-president and R&D director, communications technologies group, Astri. 'Astri aims to provide world-class innovative and competitive wireless communications technologies for multimode systems, including applications in advanced multimedia, personal and home-networking technologies, broadband wireless access mobile platforms and digital broadcasting.' It is not just Hong Kong organisations that are seeing that R&D here is good business - overseas companies are also setting up wireless communications R&D facilities. French-based Wavecom is looking to increase R&D activities in Hong Kong. Wavecom is a provider of wireless communications modules, including hardware and software for automotive, industrial and mobile professional applications for wireless PDAs and mobile computers. 'We are looking to move more of our hardware capabilities to Asia and Hong Kong for digital, analogue and radio frequency applications parallel to migrating design and manufacturing to Asia,' said Didier Dutronc, group vice-president and head of Asia-Pacific region, Wavecom. Naturally, Astri and Wavecom, as well as many firms at the HKSTP involved in the business of wireless communications, are looking for engineers. This represents an outstanding opportunity for career development. These engineers will be working on applications incorporating advanced technologies. Astri is seeking to become a driving force in the development of technology in the Pearl River Delta and beyond, parallel to the role of Itri (Industrial Technology Research Institute) in Taiwan and Etri (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) in South Korea. 'We want to create the best technology and develop the next generation high-technology leaders to better provide core technology in new systems and design know-how to our clients, so we are building a world-class team,' said Dr I of Astri. To realise this ambitious agenda, Astri is on a recruiting drive to boost its headcount from 300 to 800 by 2009. Many of these employees will be working on wireless communications. Engineers with experience in baseband, protocols and hardware and software applications are required at all levels. Fresh graduates will also be considered. HKSTP's strategy is to have wireless technology firms clustered in the park so that co-operation is easier and will result in synergies. It also plans to build a lab to attract more companies. HKSTP's tenants and its laboratory, which is planned to ease the certification testing process for firms in Hong Kong, will need engineers. Wavecom plans to grow its team to as many as 35 by next year for embedded software and hardware, as well as validation. So, the big issue is what qualifications are needed for these solid career opportunities in research and development in the wireless communications sector. At the outset, a university degree, preferably in electronics engineering, and two to three years of experience is needed. The key term here is RF, or radio frequency, as wireless communications results from the transmission and reception of radio waves. 'Experience in the higher range of frequencies and in mixed signals, that is, working with digital as well as analogue signals, is also very useful, and in working with systems, is critical to manage electromagnetic interference and electrical emission issues,' said Mr Cheung. 'Engineers with experience at the front-end of RF applications are the most difficult to find.' So it is not surprising that Astri wants to take advantage of this need for front-end RF applications by setting up a centre for the design of internal antenna technology for portable systems. 'At Astri we are building up teams of engineers in wireless communications, so we need engineers for positions at all levels, including graduates, those with three to five years of experience and senior engineers at higher management levels,' said Dr I. Wavecom is recruiting engineers for developing a platform, including software and an operating system based on Edge (enhanced data GSM environment) technology, a successor to GSM as a wireless protocol. It expects would-be software engineers to have two to three years of experience in embedded software. Hardware engineer applicants should have worked on digital hardware and analogue systems, while validation engineers should also have worked with protocol testing. Solid Opportunities The SAR is active in wireless communications R&D Technical skills, especially in RF engineering, are important People skills and English and Putonghua capabilities are needed to advance Wireless R&D may offer the best R&D career development prospects in Hong Kong
