Application of IoT Technologies as a University Project for Students: Challenges and Possibilities

Practical projects are crucial in university curriculums, allowing students to research, develop, and present projects, thus demonstrating their knowledge and skills. This paper describes a complex project suitable for students’ practical internships that could evolve into a comprehensive thesis by their fourth year. The project consists of assembling a soil parameter measuring station, and integrating knowledge from disciplines about hardware, electronics, programming, networking, operating systems, databases, and information systems. The requirements include selecting suitable software technologies, programming microcontrollers, choosing network protocols and databases, and developing data handling and visualization tools.Challenges include defining project requirements, managing student expectations for detailed guidance, and navigating research on new technologies. This publication details the project’s development stages, issues encountered, and the evolution of both the students’ approaches and the counselors’ strategies over nearly three years.