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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The European Project Semester (EPS) project-based learning framework is a multicultural and
multidisciplinary one semester engineering capstone programme provided by a network of European
Higher Education institutions. Its aim is to prepare 3rd-year undergraduate students to their future
professional life, enhancing hard and soft skills and following ethical and sustainable design and
development practices. At the School of Engineering of Porto Polytechnic (ISEP) the focus of the EPS
programme (EPS@ISEP) is on solving multidisciplinary problems through teamwork, involving
engineering, design and business students [1].
The students work in teams of 5 to 6 students, assembled according to the identified Belbin team
roles, and also maximizing student cultural and scientific diversity. On the first week each team
chooses to solve one of the open-ended multidisciplinary problems on offer. Those projects involve
typically some type of automation and control[2].
One of the obstacles these eclectic teams face is the lack of hardware/software skills required to
design, assemble and test a microcontroller based systems. To help overcome this situation, the
programme syllabus includes an 8-hour intensive "Arduino & Electronics Crash Course" at the
beginning of the semester due to its market penetration, low-cost, availability of documentation and
support, and soft learning curve. This course has effectively contributed to provide students with the
necessary knowledge to design and implement simple control systems, leading to the adoption in
multiple EPS@ISEP past projects of the Arduino platform/ecosystem. However, the crescent
sophistication of the projects, namely the integration with Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, requires
the definition of a new strategy, considering the available hardware/software alternatives.
This paper analyses the experience of the EPS@ISEP students regarding the use of microcontroller
based platforms in the development of engineering capstone projects, and proposes possible future
hardware/software alternatives, both from the technical and pedagogical perspectives.
Description
Keywords
Microcontrollers Project-Based Learning Programming STEM Engineering Education
