Education through IoT

Fujitsu launches Operation Innovation Competition

Posted by Rebecca Paddick | October 02, 2016 | Technology

• #fujitsu-education-ambassador-establishment
• #iot
• #internet-of-things
• #education
• #national-museum-of-computing

Fujitsu UK and Ireland has launched its Operation Innovation competition alongside partners Intel, Brocade and Kyocera to help provide students with real-world commercial experience and opportunities, and to provide them with the chance to interact with technology first-hand and be enthused by it. 

Tasking students aged 16 and over from the Fujitsu Education Ambassador establishments across the UK with developing a proof of concept around the internet of things (IoT), the overall goal is for teams to come up with a way to solve a real-world problem using IoT technology. The issue can sit within one of three sectors: education, utilities or manufacturing – all industries in which IoT is already beginning to have a significant impact.

The idea behind our competition is to arm students with the digital skills and knowledge now that will help them excel in the future. But in addition to technical skills, we also want to help them develop softer abilities such as teamwork and presentation skills

Geoffrey Fowler, Principal, London Design Engineering UTC and entrant commented on his school’s involvement in Operation Innovation: “LDE wanted to be involved in this project as it is a great opportunity for our students to be able to work with Fujitsu and your partners, Intel, Brocade and Kyocera, to get an idea of how big companies work, and begin to develop a view of the future career path they might like to take.

"We’ve also assigned the project as part of our Extended Project Qualification, which is part of our formal curriculum, and this is where the students will actually work on this project as part of their timetabled lessons, and at the end of it the project output will support their AS-Level qualification.” 

At the end of the project on 11th November there will be a finals day at the National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Park. Ten finalists will present their proofs of concept to a panel of judges, and the winning team will be flown to Munich to attend Fujitsu’s international flagship event. Fujitsu Forum in November. They’ll also be given a tour of our Fujitsu Labs HQ and have the chance to present their concept to our chief technology officer Dr. Joseph Reger.

Ash Merchant, Education Director, Fujitsu said, “The idea behind our competition is to arm students with the digital skills and knowledge now that will help them excel in the future. But in addition to technical skills, we also want to help them develop softer abilities such as teamwork and presentation skills. These are extremely important traits that when coupled with digital know-how will give these students a massive head start as they enter the working world.” 

W: www.educationambassador.co.uk