I would NOT start with tools.
Not with fancy FPGA boards.
Not even with complex protocols.

I would start with one thing:
Thinking in hardware.

Because that is where most students struggle.

Many engineering students can write Verilog syntax.
Very few can actually visualize hardware behavior.

Ask them:

What happens on every clock edge?
Why does timing fail?
Why does metastability happen?
Why does a design work in simulation but fail in silicon?

And suddenly… confidence disappears.

What happens on every clock edge?
Why does timing fail?
Why does metastability happen?
Why does a design work in simulation but fail in silicon?

And suddenly… confidence disappears.

The semiconductor industry does not just need “people who completed courses.”
It needs engineers who can:
Debug logic patiently
Read waveforms carefully
Understand timing deeply
Build reliable RTL
Think systematically under constraints

If I had to train a future RTL engineer from scratch, the roadmap would look like this:

Digital fundamentals before coding
RTL thinking before syntax memorization
Timing concepts before advanced projects
Debugging before optimization
Real industry-style problems before certificates

Because in real chip design…
The hardest part is not writing code.
The hardest part is understanding WHY the hardware behaves the way it does.

And honestly, the students who master this mindset early will have a massive advantage in the coming semiconductor wave.