Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) students in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Communication Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering (FE), aka the “Gaia” team composed of Christina Chaccour, Elio Faddoul, and Ryan Ghoche, and advised by Eng. Nisrine el-Turky, won first prize in the “Alfa-Ericsson IoT Awards 2018,” 2nd Edition' competition. The competition was organized in cooperation with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Young Professionals Lebanon, and the awards ceremony took place on May 15, 2018, at the Phoenicia Hotel, Beirut.
This competition gave senior-year students in telecom, computer, and electrical engineering the chance to present their Internet of Things (IoT) projects before a jury of experts. After five teams qualified for the final round, the winning team was the NDU “Gaia” team; their #IoT solution ranked the best out of 47 students across 17 teams from 12 different Lebanese universities.
“Gaia” is a wireless sensor network that ensures the healthiness of crops and allows the farmer to connect remotely with his farm through a mobile application. The NDU mission is to assist and sponsor students, faculty, and professional research staff in their efforts to secure and ensure proper development and education. Throughout this competition, NDUers gained experience in coding, wireless networks, and public speaking.