Jiangnan University key aspect for IEEE designation

Internet of things technology garners 'smart city' title for Wuxi

Throughout six years of rapid development, the IoT Engineering School of Jiangnan University has witnessed the explosive growth of the internet of things sector in Wuxi and believes that a promising future lies ahead.

Founded in 2010, the school, the first of its kind in China, now has more than 200 teachers, with many counted among the leading academic experts in the country.

More than 3,200 bachelors and 800 postgraduate students are studying advanced technologies at the school.

"We help companies in many fields develop their own IoT technology and services based on their respective needs," said Gu Xiaofeng, deputy director of the school. "IoT technology can accelerate the advancement of traditional industries."

In a narrow sense, IoT is just the connection of different things; but nowadays it has permeated many areas of life, like industry, agriculture and finance, Gu said.

Liu Fei, director of the IoT Engineering School, said: "The focus of IoT is to combine different kinds of technology together and apply information technology to them."

Due to the application of IoT technologies, many food processing companies have automated control and production systems, power plants choose energy-saving and emission-controlling systems, and hospitals use systems to monitor the infusion process and read tumor reports.

Students at the IoT Engineering School conduct tests while learning about IoT technology, with the aid of their professors.

"If a senior who has alarm equipment on his wrist falls down at home, the terminals at communities or medical institutions can receive the information immediately and send people to help," Liu said. "IoT can benefit people in many aspects."

In 2014, Wuxi was elected one of the pilot cities of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Smart Cities Initiative that aims to meet residents’ needs for a quality living environment. IEEE is a renowned professional technological organization headquartered in the United States.

Gilles Betis, chair of IEEE's Smart Cities Initiative, said during an interview in 2014 that Wuxi is well positioned to utilize the resources offered through the IEEE Smart Cities Initiative, and the city government showed its plans to invest capital and involve more people in the project.

To support Wuxi's IEEE program, the IoT school founded a team and invited famous experts from around the world to give suggestions in February 2014.

Wuxi was selected to be the only city in Asia to join the IEEE program in July 2014.

With the support of the IEEE Smart Cities Initiative, the team from the IoT school has cooperated with foreign agencies in postgraduate education.

Their efforts include the Massive Open Online Courses program, which includes big data and artificial intelligence for a smart city, and a white book compilation that includes development of data and frameworks, as well as data analysis.

About 70 to 80 percent of its graduates choose to stay in the Yangtze River Delta and work in the IoT industry, according to the school.

In the future, it will communicate more frequently with foreign universities and recruit more experts to research advanced IoT technologies.

Undergraduates at the IoT Engineering School of Jiangnan University in Wuxi display their innovative internet of things technology. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY