Educating Internet of Things Professionals: The Ambient Intelligence Course

The increasing popularity and complexity of the Internet of Things (IoT) requires engineers to master various languages and protocols. Interest is also growing in the human factors for transparently and intelligently supporting people with these new IoT systems. New design methodologies are increasingly needed in the toolbox of new electronic and computer engineers, and teaching strategies must allow students to acquire a systems-level view. This article describes the experience of a university undergraduate course in ambient intelligence (AmI) at Politecnico di Torino, Italy. In the course, through a project-based learning approach, students design and prototype an AmI system, and their progress is closely monitored throughout the semester. The article presents the course organization and its main results, including the relationship with industry stakeholders that collaborated in the course delivery.