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Certificate
Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) – VHDL Programming
Course Outline
The Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) – VHDL Programming course provides learners with both theoretical and practical expertise in digital hardware design using VHDL and FPGA technology.
Students will develop digital systems on a Spartan-7 FPGA using the Boolean Board and the AMD/Xilinx Vivado development environment. The course begins with foundational exercises such as LED control and basic combinational logic, and progressively advances to concurrent hardware modelling, state machines, hierarchical design, IP core integration and simulation techniques.
Learners will gain hands-on experience writing synthesizable VHDL code, simulating digital designs, implementing them on hardware and troubleshooting timing and logic issues.
By the end of the course, students will be able to design, simulate, synthesise and deploy complex digital systems on FPGA hardware.
Key Information
- MQF/EQF Level: Not pegged/recognised by MFHEA
- ECTS: N/A
- Qualification/Certification Type: Certificate of Completion
- Course Duration: 20 weeks × 3 hrs/week
- Total Hours: 60 hours
- Delivery Mode: In-person (hands-on lab-based)
- Language of Instruction: English & Maltese
- Target Audience: 16+ years
Students must complete at least 85% of total learning hours (tracked via attendance logs, lab participation and assessment submissions). A Certificate of Completion will be issued accordingly.
Course Description
This unit is dedicated to developing practical and theoretical proficiency in programming Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) using VHDL. Students begin with foundational exercises, such as driving LEDs, to establish confidence with basic digital design principles. The unit then progresses into more advanced concepts, including the use of concurrent statements and hardware level parallelism to achieve high performance digital processing.
All practical work is carried out on the Boolean Board, providing an accessible and hands on platform for learning how to interface an FPGA with external peripherals. Students will work with a range of components, including LEDs, push buttons, slider switches, and seven segment displays, gaining experience in real world digital I/O design.
The board features a Spartan 7 FPGA, and all development is performed using the AMD/Xilinx Vivado IDE. Through this environment, students will learn how to write, simulate, synthesize, and implement VHDL designs, preparing them for more complex digital systems development in later units or professional applications.
Key topics include:
- The Entity
- VHDL Data Types
- Input and Output ports
- Global and Local Signals
- Combinational logic in VHDL
- Concurrent statements
- Multiplexers
- Using IP cores
- Processes
- State Machines in VHDL
- Hierarchy
- Test benches and Simulations
Entry Requirements
- Successful completion of the Digital Electronics course
- Strong understanding of:
- Logic gates
- Boolean algebra
- Combinational and sequential circuits
- Flip-flops and state machines
Recommended:
- Basic understanding of programming concepts
- Familiarity with number systems
- Analytical thinking and problem-solving skills
This course is not suitable for beginners in electronics.
Target Audience
This course is designed for:
- Electronics and Electrical Engineering students
- Embedded hardware developers
- Digital system designers
- Robotics engineers
- Mechatronics students
- Automation engineers
- ICT students specialising in hardware systems
- Professionals seeking FPGA and hardware acceleration skills
Course Delivery
The programme is structured into eight modules, delivered through:
- Instructor-led demonstrations
- Guided VHDL coding workshops
- Simulation exercises
- FPGA implementation sessions
- Hardware debugging labs
- Capstone hardware design project
Course Structure
- Module 1 – Introduction to FPGA & Development Environment
- Module 2 – VHDL Fundamentals
- Module 3 – Combinational Logic in VHDL
- Module 4 – Sequential Logic & Processes
- Module 5 – Hierarchical & Modular Design
- Module 6 – Simulation & Test Benches
- Module 7 – IP Cores & Advanced Design
- Module 8 – Final FPGA Project
- Final Assessment
Assessment & Certification
Assessment Breakdown:
- Practical Lab Assignments – 40%
- Mid-Term Theory & VHDL Test – 20%
- Simulation & Test Bench Assignment – 10%
- Final FPGA Project – 30%
Upon successful completion, students receive a Certificate in Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) – VHDL Programming.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Explain FPGA architecture.
- Write synthesizable VHDL code.
- Design combinational and sequential circuits in VHDL.
- Implement state machines using hardware description techniques.
- Use Vivado IDE for simulation, synthesis, and implementation.
- Develop hierarchical digital designs.
- Write effective test benches for verification.
- Interface FPGA with external I/O devices.
- Debug hardware-level digital designs.
- Design and deploy a complete FPGA-based system.
Course Intake Dates & Pricing
April 2026
Price: EUR 1200
Optional Add-ons (please contact us for pricing):
- Boolean Board Spartan-7 Kit
- Full Kit with Accessories
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