All schools in south-east Scotland are to be equipped with environmental sensors connected to the country’s IoT (internet of things) Schools Network, the University of Edinburgh has said.
The work is taking place under a £9.5 million programme covering schools in Edinburgh, Fife, the Lothians and Borders.
It will provide sensors measuring CO2, humidity, light, air pressure, temperatures, air quality, soil moisture and weather to support science classes and encourage children to think about how to use environmental data.
Each sensor is linked to a high performance computer at Edinburgh’s International Data Facility, where the data is transformed into graphs and charts that learners and teachers can readily access online.
STEM studies and careers
This is aimed at helping young people navigate the digital landscape and inspiring them to study STEM subjects and follow careers in data driven industries.
The university is supporting the initiative as part of its Data Driven Innovation (DDI) programme, which is now its fifth year. The programme is aimed at connecting university researchers with partners in the public, private and third sectors.
Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, principal and vice chancellor the University of Edinburgh, commented: “The IoT schools’ network aims to give pupils the confidence, competence and ambition to use data to benefit themselves and their communities in an ever changing digital world.
"Today, even more schools are taking part and by the end of this school year we will have rolled the project out to the vast majority of south east Scotland’s local authority schools, making it Europe’s largest IoT network.”
