November 2, 2015

Tomorrow's solutions today showcased at trade show and innovation fair

Fancy being able to order and have coffee made for you with a few touches of an app? Or how about starting to learn a musical instrument via your tablet or smartphone?

These were some of the design and problem-solving and talents of budding computer and telecommunications engineers that were on display at the annual student Trade Show and Innovation Fair.

On Thursday 29 October, third-year students from UOW’s School of Computing and Information Technology (SCIT) showcased their software projects at the Trade Show, which are designed with industry partners in mind to provide real-world project management experience.

Projects ranged from software that helps people learn about how their car works in a fun way, to a space-themed music education game that helps people start learning the piano in their own time and without the cost of an instrument.

Then on Friday 30 October, second and third year students from the School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering (SECTE) presented their annual team projects at the Innovation Fair.

Their challenge was to design products for the ‘internet of things’ and develop interconnected systems that reimagine the way people interact with everyday objects.

Examples of ideas the students came up with included a home refrigerator that knows when the milk is running out, a coffee machine that makes your coffee remotely through an order submitted via a smartphone, and a baby monitoring system that can check the baby’s sleeping position, heart rate and temperature.

Teams of up to 10 students have spent months as part of their subjects applying what they've learned through their degree to meet a design challenge.

To recreate a real-world project management setting, the students have to follow the process from the initial idea through to demonstrating the product to prospective clients.

Along the way they sharpen their skills that complement traditional engineering know-how, such as budgeting, marketing and environmental considerations.

Students from the School of Computing and Information Technology (SCIT) showcased their software projects at the annual Trade Show.