M2M Connectivity Featured Article

For the IoT to grow, bringing current college students into the industry is a mission critical function for enterprises and developers. To that end, San Jose State University’s Department of Computer Science brought students to present technology solutions to real-world problems at IoT connectivity developer, Aeris’ (News - Alert) headquarters.

The collaboration between Aeris and SJSU was sparked by Dr. Melody Moh, Professor, Computer Science, SJSU, in order to provide an introduction to IoT for students, and promote diversity and gender equality in the technology workforce. The project lasted about three weeks, and began with a classroom overview of the IoT industry, the components of an IoT solution and how to build an IoT application. In the end, eight student teams presented final projects on April 2 to a panel of four judges representing senior leadership in the business, investment and technology sectors.

“This was a unique opportunity to work with local students and budding entrepreneurs to better prepare them to make an immediate impact in their careers with skills in high demand,” said Harry Plant, VP, social sector, Aeris. “We were excited to see strong interest from a diverse array of students representing the fabric of the San Jose State University campus and San Jose community.”

The top three teams were chosen based on the originality and creativity of the solution, the project’s technical achievement, the teamwork involved and the real-world value of the solution (including the extent to which it addressed a social need). The top three projects were:

1.     An IoT application targeting patients, doctors and pharmacies to supply only the necessary number of pills and thus inhibit drug abuse;

2.     An IoT application that targets farmers in determining optimal plant growing conditions, and;

3.     An IoT application designed to prevent car accidents.

The program taught basic scripting languages for IoT applications and an provided overview of an IoT development platforms and technology, including a Tessel board, sensors and connectivity modules. The students also had access to Aeris executives and engineers to learn how to develop a business case for their IoT solutions.

“Our goal is to teach our students the theories and background to technology and its development, and provide them with practical, hands-on experience to build a deeper connection with what we are teaching in the classroom,” said Dr. Moh. “This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to work with Aeris, a leading company based in Silicon Valley, and we were excited to see the final solutions they created.”

Each SJSU student was given a certificate of participation in addition to the hands-on training. Aeris is committed to fostering stronger relationships with local schools and universities, and promoting diversity and gender equity in technology industries and Silicon Valley.