STEGO supports digital teaching at universities

Makeathon at Aalen University

The Makeathon gave students the opportunity to develop solutions relating to climate, resources and digitalisation using on an interdisciplinary approach. Sixty first-semester students – from the Mechatronics, Technical Content Creation, User Experience, and Technology and Engineering Teacher Education programmes – came up with both hardware- and software-based solutions with the help of our Industry 4.0 IIoT platform STEGO CONNECT.  

Too many students dropping out of their technical studies prematurely has been a perennial problem, so it did not take much to convince our Managing Director Elmar Mangold to take part in the VDMA transfer project: “Passing on a passion for engineering as a profession to young people is a personal mission of mine. We want to help open up access to Industry 4.0 applications in a way that is practice-oriented.”

The STEGO CONNECT IIoT platform

We joined forces with Prof. Peter Eichinger, Professor of Mechatronics at Aalen University, to develop the concept for the “Öko Smart Home” workshop, with the theme of sustainable, environmentally friendly living around the home providing the creative scope for the Makeathon. 

The students integrated sensors and actuators into the cloud using our STEGO CONNECT IIoT platform. Within the cloud, they linked complex, event-based interactions between various building automation components in a simple, clear and intuitive way. This resulted in some exciting solutions from the project teams relating to areas such as home access management, air conditioning, and safety and security technology. 

Prof. Ulrich Schmitt, also Professor of Mechatronics, had been instrumental in driving the preparation, implementation and evaluation of the “Maschinenhaus” project and declared the event to have had an effective impact. “In the ‘Maschinenhaus’ transfer project, the students literally discover what their studies are all about. They come up with a specific problem, turn it into a practical task, work on the project as an interdisciplinary team and create their own unique solution, which they then present to the audience at the end.”

A resounding success for the students and the university

The Makeathon drew to a successful conclusion with the presentation of the “Maschinenhaus certificate” by VDMA educational consultant Michael Patrick Zeiner. Aalen University’s Faculty of Optics and Mechatronics thus became the 59th educational faculty in Germany to be rewarded for successfully completing the transfer project with our support.