The development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and specifically Internet of Things (IoT) in Argentina and Uruguay is growing at a relatively slow pace and we found the main reasons being: the lack of cooperation, the scarceness of human resources in the area of interest, and the heterogeneous thus ineffective educational methodology and offer in a state of the art topic. The aim of the project NEON is therefore to modernize the higher education system, to improve and diversify the training of human resources, both in the academic field (students, professors,) and in the industrial sphere (technical staff) and to motivate a broader spectrum of people towards IoT, which nowadays is one of the most innovative and most impactful technology in the ICT field, as it can influence and improve several aspects and processes of our lives. The main goal of the institutions that take part in the project will be the creation of a Network of Competence in IoT. This network of competence will serve as a hub and common knowledge base for both academia and industry in order to foster an improved technological advancement through exchange of knowledge and needs. Specifically, the network of competence will connect universities in Argentina and Uruguay with local industry (and with EU universities) in order to address their needs, offer teaching and training opportunities to both teachers, staff and students, improve the infrastructure through the creation of joint university-academia laboratories and offer internships. All these activities will be related to modernizing the curricula by including the IoT topic, developing new hands-on based education, acquiring digital skills and learning methods to strengthen the relation between HEIs and the wider economic and social environment fostering capacity building, innovation, creativity and employability so that to contribute to local economy growth.
The main goal of the project NEON is the modernization of the higher education system, with the aim of reducing the disparity between cutting-edge technologies and comprehensive human education (i.e., the courses content and the training equipment). The modernization effort encompasses both the academic field (students and professors) and the industrial sphere (technical staff), facilitating a collaborative journey towards a shared objective: the creation of a Network of Competence (NoC) in IoT.
In the domain of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the field Internet of Things (IoT) plays a pivotal role in driving technological advancement in any country. For instance, IoT based solutions enhance various facets of daily life. However, this crucial domain is advancing at a relatively slow rate in Argentina and Uruguay, due to factors such as insufficient collaboration, shortage of skilled personnel and heterogeneous educational strategies in such a state-of-the-art domain.
<< Background >> In the domain of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the field Internet of Things (IoT) plays a pivotal role in driving technological advancement in any country. For instance, IoT based solutions enhance various facets of daily life. However, this crucial domain is advancing at a relatively slow rate in Argentina and Uruguay, due to factors such as insufficient collaboration, shortage of skilled personnel and heterogeneous educational strategies in such a state-of-the-art domain. << Objectives >> The main goal of the project NEON is the modernization of the higher education system, with the aim of reducing the disparity between cutting-edge technologies and comprehensive human education (i.e., the courses content and the training equipment). The modernization effort encompasses both the academic field (students and professors) and the industrial sphere (technical staff), facilitating a collaborative journey towards a shared objective: the creation of a Network of Competence (NoC) in IoT. << Implementation >> The NoC will be the hub that connects various academic and industrial partners to foster technological advancement by sharing knowledge and needs. In particular, the Argentinian and Uruguayan universities will be connected with local companies and EU universities. This network aims to support Latin American (LA) universities by offering teaching/training opportunities to teachers and students, improving laboratory infrastructure for IoT research, and fostering industry/academia cooperation. << Results >> The creation of 5 joint university-industry labs, establishment of NoC as an IoT hub, and facilitating student training and internships were among the important outcomes of NEON. The engineering curricula were modernized by incorporating IoT topics and enhancing teaching methods. The LA partners acquired new digital skills and learning methods, which aided in strengthening their relationships with a broader economic and social environment, thus contributing to the growth of their local economy.