In 2017, CSUF’s College of Engineering & Computer Science was awarded a nearly $300,000 grant from Cisco. Active from December 2017 to May 2022, the grant enabled the college to introduce Internet of Things (IoT) topics to courses in the computer science and computer engineering programs.
“We wanted to introduce students to IoT concepts so they can apply for IoT-related jobs after graduating,” says Anand Panangadan, co-principal investigator (PI) for the grant and associate professor in the Department of Computer Science.
The grant powered the development of new IoT-related courses, the integration of IoT concepts into existing courses, hands-on experiences, professional and technical skill-building opportunities, a speaker series that featured talks from local industry professionals, and internship outreach to high school students.
By the end of the project, nearly 1,000 students were enrolled in one of the new or updated courses. Of these, 21 percent were underrepresented minorities and 18 percent were women.
A Significant Field of Knowledge
IoT is a high-demand, rapidly growing sector of the computer science and engineering industry, as more and more consumers and industries embrace smart devices to optimize their lives and daily operations.
“IoT applications appear almost everywhere – inside homes, cars, factories, and hospitals,” Panangadan says. “All of these are built using computer science and engineering technologies, but the typical undergraduate program doesn’t make the connection between these concepts and IoT. When students learn IoT fundamentals, they expand their career opportunities.”
Alongside IoT concepts, entrepreneurship skills were integrated into ECS curricula wherever possible.
“Cisco has effectively given our students a competitive edge, introduced them to potential new career paths, provided key networking opportunities, and strengthened the socioeconomic future of our students and their families.”
Michael Karg, Executive Director of Development
“Engineering deals with real-world problems, thus lending itself naturally toward a symbiotic relationship with entrepreneurship,” says Kiran George, co-PI, vice chair of computer and electrical engineering, and CSUF’S 2020 Outstanding Professor. “Through entrepreneurial education, engineers gain experience in product design and market analysis and attain a fundamental knowledge of the processes involved in developing a commercial product from technology. More importantly, entrepreneurial training better prepares them to become effective, innovative team members that benefit their employers.”
George notes that integrating entrepreneurship into the current engineering curricula was a challenge because it taxes an already-packed engineering program. However, the Cisco grant enabled the introduction of entrepreneurial training through an IoT prototyping elective course, EGCP 565, in which students created a one-page business plan for the IoT product they developed. Additionally, students in the senior design cohorts were given brief training to expose them to and immerse them in the world of entrepreneurship.
George also worked closely with Atul Teckchandani, assistant professor of management in the College of Business and Economics and entrepreneur-in-residence for ECS, to introduce entrepreneurship basics to students in the senior design capstone experience for the Computer Engineering Program. Teckchandani met with senior design students during a workshop assessing the real-world potential of their design projects, and he offered guidance on how to share their projects with prospective employers and how to prepare for the annual CSUF Fast Pitch Competition.
Cultivating a More Robust Education
At the beginning of the grant period, the ECS Cisco grant team and the Orange County Business Council held discussions with local industry representatives to better understand which traits would be most valuable to them in job applicants.
Two new courses were born from these discussions and developed with support from the Cisco grant: “Introduction to Data Science and Big Data” (CPSC 375) and “Rapid Prototyping for Internet of Things” (EGCP 565). The grant also enabled the college to introduce IoT concepts into computer science and computer engineering courses “Cloud Computing and Security” (CPSC 454), “Introduction to Cyber-Physical Systems Security” (EGCP 447), and “Advanced Secure Hardware Design” (EGCP 543). The topics focused on the security implications and challenges related to IoT devices, aligning with the courses’ existing curricula.
One of the new courses, CPSC 375, addresses big data challenges. Taught by Panangadan and offered as an elective course for the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science program, it has proven popular with students. It includes an overview of IoT and time-series analysis methods for processing IoT sensor data streams.
George developed the other new course. EGCP 565 introduces the history and evolution of IoT, case studies from various industry domains, IoT design principles, and more. More significantly, it provides graduate students with hands-on experience in building embedded systems.
“It allows students to design, implement, and test an IoT product or service, giving them a timely opportunity to acquire IoT skills that are highly in demand in the healthcare, manufacturing, and defense sectors,” George says. “From an employment perspective, it allows graduate students to spruce up their existing skillset to be more desirable for employers.”
As part of the course, student teams designed, developed, and presented innovative IoT products or services over a five-week span. Projects from summer 2021 included smart coasters that detected when beverages were at the optimal temperature to drink, a solar-powered earthquake early warning system that sent alerts via SMS, and smart HVAC vents that monitored home temperature and air quality.
“It’s a truly rewarding experience to see students progress from a project concept all the way to a functional prototype that they’re able to demonstrate at the end of the year,” George says.
Students who took the course provided encouraging feedback. One student wrote, “It enhanced my knowledge of interfacing, and it also taught me valuable project management skills. So far, it’s been the most practical course during my master’s degree.” Another student praised the course for its hands-on experience, noting they wished ECS offered more courses like it.
The grant also supported IoT-related senior design projects as part of the multidisciplinary capstone experience for the Computer Engineering Program. Several of these projects went on to win awards, such as the Smart Solar Recycling Bin that won “Most Innovative” at the 2019 ECS Student Project Showcase.
“With the integration of IoT, students are able to expand their projects’ scope and functionality,” George says. “The availability of open-source drag-and-drop mobile application development options allow them to easily design and create functional applications for smart devices that can present raw data from IoT devices in an insightful manner.”
With this integration, he has seen positive shifts in senior design projects, with an increase in ambition, innovation, creativity, quality, and the number of projects that tackle real-world challenges.
Collaborating and Networking with Professionals
Seven IoT-related senior design projects from 2018 to 2022 were industry-sponsored, exposing students to industry-specific product development, management processes, and regulatory and legal constraints. Sponsors included the Fullerton Arboretum, Cal/Amp, Disney, and RJE International.
“Often, these opportunities give students access to labs and advanced machines and devices that the university might not have,” George says. “More importantly, these project experiences can lead to employment with the sponsoring partner after graduation.”
The Cisco grant also supported the IoT speaker series, which invited local IoT professionals to speak to ECS students about IoT concepts and career opportunities. Some talks were hosted as part of course curricula, while others were offered outside of specific classes, such as through ECS’s Professor-for-a-Day program. Speakers included Matt Jennings, systems engineer for Cisco; Jayden Shutt, AWS cloud architect for Cal/Amp; and Peter Bilello (BS ’89), ECS alum and president and CEO of CIMdata, who offered students free attendance at a virtual industry conference.
“Speakers’ talks complemented the course lectures – both in content and style,” Panangadan says. “In addition to talking about technology, they spoke of the business side of their companies and how to do well in interviews. The companies were also local, so the students could see that Orange County has these technology companies that are looking for people with the right skills.”
Early Outreach Promotes Future Success
The Cisco grant also focused on early outreach, offering summer internship opportunities to students from nearby Valencia High School. From 2018 to 2021, 31 students participated in these five-week summer internship programs, earning credits toward Valencia High School’s ValTech technology diploma program.
Working in teams, students built IoT-based systems for real-world applications, then presented their work to the rest of the class. During their presentations, students had to be able to explain the entrepreneurship prospects of their system. Under George’s guidance, students developed applications that included a smart Wi-Fi fan, a heart sensor alarm clock, and smart bicycles.
“It was primarily designed as a career exploratory program,” George says of the internship program. “IoT concepts were incrementally introduced to the high school students through weekly technical assignments and prototype development exercises. The students gained technical skills, and the program organically provided opportunities to develop other skills, like communication, teamwork, and leadership. We wanted to pique their interest and sustain it after they completed the internship.”
George notes that the program was well-received, with several students sending letters of appreciation. In a response that particularly stuck out to George, one student wrote, “The opportunity for us to create and build our own final project was incredible. It allowed us to stretch our capabilities in programming, hardware connection, and app development, all while building a project applicable to the real world. My grandfather is blind, and when I explained to him that we were building an augmented walking stick to ensure increased safety for the blind, he was ecstatic.”
Another student wrote, “In the future, I hope to be an engineer and will put the skills I acquired in this internship to good use. This summer opportunity will be something I will remember for a long time.”
Ongoing Improvement and Implementation
Spring 2022 marked the last semester of the Cisco grant project, but the actions George and Panangadan took to execute its goals will continue to positively impact students at ECS for generations. Courses with integrated IoT topics will be offered to students as part of their degree programs, and Panangadan notes that they plan to continue inviting IoT speakers to campus.
“I feel we have a stronger connection to the local Orange County industry compared to when we started,” Panangadan says. “This grant has shown that it’s possible to have a closer collaboration between academic education and local industries. This model of academia and industry collaboration can be extended to other areas, so our students can keep learning in-demand skills.”
George and Panangadan also anticipate that IoT will continue to be integrated into ECS students’ projects, such as the new two-semester computer science capstone experience. It will also be incorporated in the Digital Homelessness Initiative, which aims to use technology to improve access to affordable, sustainable housing.
“We are researching some IoT-related technologies that could be used in supportive housing,” Panangadan says. “We are working with students to develop prototypes of such technologies. One exciting thing about this project is that we will have engineering, computer science, and public health students working together, a learning experience in and of itself.”
“I feel we have a stronger connection to the local Orange County industry compared to when we started. This grant has shown that it’s possible to have a closer collaboration between academic education and local industries. This model of academia and industry collaboration can be extended to other areas, so our students can keep learning in-demand skills.”
Anand Panangadan, Co-Principal Investigator for the Grant and Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science
By exposing students to IoT career opportunities, providing entrepreneurial training, and integrating IoT topics into widely popular elective courses – like Associate Professor of Computer Science Yun Tian’s CPSC 454 course – George and Panangadan have effectively paved the way for more ECS students to find success in IoT professions after graduation.
Already, 32 percent of surveyed students who graduated from CSUF after completing one of the IoT courses are employed in an IoT-related area, demonstrating a remarkable impact. The survey, which was sent to 50 students who participated in one of the grant-supported courses, also revealed that a staggering majority (84 percent) believe IoT should be a high priority in computer science and engineering programs, with many noting the new IoT integrations were their first introduction to the topic. In the four academic years that the grant was active (2018-2022), 76 percent of student design capstone projects for computer engineering were IoT-related. This data was gathered and analyzed with the assistance of Michael Biesiada, research analyst for CSUF’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning.
The Cisco grant has left a remarkable impact on student experiences at ECS. Panangadan notes that the grant was critical to implementing these important innovations in the college, adding that he’s pleased their work is supported by a global industry leader.
Executive Director of Development Michael Karg says, “The Cisco grant illustrates the impact local and industry leaders can have on students and their futures. By increasing CSUF students’ access to innovative education and applied learning experiences, Cisco has effectively given our students a competitive edge, introduced them to potential new career paths, provided key networking opportunities, and strengthened the socioeconomic future of our students and their families.”
Of George and Panangadan’s tireless efforts, Karg says, “We’re grateful to have such talented, dedicated, and hardworking faculty, who helped secure the grant and achieve its goals to make a real difference for our students. They truly are part of what makes our program worth investing in.”
