IoT and 3D Printing: Introducing Students to New Opportunities

March 28, 2017 ProgressTH 

Around fifty students and lecturers from Singapore's Temasek Polytechnic school recently visited Thailand to get a better idea of not only the tech scene here, but also to introduce the mostly business IT students to new ideas and skills including IoT projects and 3D design and printing.


Jackson Ng, a lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic, recently discussed with us the concept behind the trip, raising many important points about the shift practical education is taking.

For instance, a more interdisciplinary approach to education allows students to see a full set of options not only for helping them determine their future careers, but also to help them understand what is and isn't possible when approaching potentially new opportunities.

And while an IT business student might not possess the full skill sets required to prototype a project on their own, knowing the basics behind prototyping platforms like Arduino as well as 3D design and printing, gives them the knowledge they need to create more realistic objectives and better assemble teams capable of achieving those objectives.

The students visited PINN Creative Space for a workshop using the IoT ESPresso Lite board, an Arduino compatible, WiFi enabled platform used for IoT projects.


The following day at FabCafe Bangkok, they observed a demonstration of 3D design using SketchUp and 3D printing using an Ultimaker derived printer manufactured here in Thailand.

When the students return to Singapore, they will have to overcome the mental barriers they may have had in their minds preventing them from fully exploring the facilities, particularly for fabrication and electronic prototyping, available at Temasek Polytechnic.

Where the students go from here is up to them. We look forward to seeing at least some of them turning up at Singapore's many makerspaces, working on their projects, or even visiting Thailand again to join in on one of the many workshops and hackathons conducted at places like FabCafe Bangkok.

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