Inexperienced engineers and recent university graduated eagerly adopt new technology. This among other things, is a way to distinguish themselves 9from the older engineers) and so there is less invested in existing technologies for them. Some of the engineers with 5 - 15 years of experience were even intimidated by this raw talent.

This - the stepping on stage of inexperienced engineers and raw graduates - is one of the things that help is in there being fertile ground for adoption of new technology, according to Wesley Ryder, worldwide technical director, Mentor Graphics.

Talking on 'Carpe Diem - Golden opportunties for India to Shine' at a Mentor user forum in Bangalore last week, he said a young workforce meant that they were not blinkered by old methods.

One significant factor in India's favor is that the age of electronic engineers in India is lower than in all other major design locations.

The average age of engineers in North America is 46, while it is 45 in Japan, 41 in Europe, 35 in Korea, 34 in Taiwan, 33 in Southeast Asia, 31 in China but only 30 in India, he said quoting a CMP Global Sources study. "And hence tenure (in India) is lower and not blinkered by old methods,' Ryder said.

More than 60 percent of engineers in the U.S. and Japan have 15 years or more of experience while 50 percent of engineers in Europe have similar experience.

"India's engineers place a high priority on staying current, learning and continuing education. In the survey, 92 percent of engineers in India said they would want to continue their technical education and training, the highest percentage in the world, followed by 91 percent in Europe and 89 percent in North America. Similar figures were found when engineers were asked about their interest in staying current about industry news and analysis.

Electronic designers from India are as smart as those from the U.S., Europe and Japan, he said. However, the comparison of Indian engineers in the study was limited to those from the Indian Institutes of Technology.

Indian engineers were early adopters of C-based design, has deep experience in modeling, and has all the ingredients to exploit opportunities from technology disruption.

Ryder summed up his talk with some advice - exercise your influence, he told the 3000 or so delegates at the meeting.

"Demand best-in-class design tools and capabilities and always remain open to new design approaches. Beware of becoming risk adverse as you become more experienced and stay abreast of emerging innovations by maintaining close contact with EDA companies, including start-ups. Make your EDA suppliers aware of your issues and challenges," he said.