The CEO of TSSG at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), Barry Downes, has stated that the Internet of Things (IoT) will involve a mixture of electrical engineering skills, coding and hardware, and therefore a very specific type of graduate will be needed to meet industry demands. In anticipation of this, WIT is about to accept the first batch of students for its Bachelor of Science degree programme in the Internet of Things (IoT). Downes’ TSSG (Telecommunications Software and Systems Group) at WIT, has succeeded in transforming college research into spin-out success. Focused on the likes of 4G and 5G, it is one of Europe’s leading research groups concentrating on the future of communications and its influence in our world. The most obvious example of this has been FeedHenry, bought last year by Red Hat for €63.5 million. “TSSG at its core is a science-driven organisation very focused on the future of key areas like communications," said Downes. “With FeedHenry we saw a gap for enterprises long before enterprises would need to have an enterprise-grade platform to help with mobility. Our researchers built a sophisticated middleware platform that became the FeedHenry cloud.” He said that TSSG now homes in on some key sectors, including IoT, the emerging world of virtual reality and smart agriculture. TSSG is currently bidding to front a €30 million EU-wide project focused on how smart technologies and the IoT could transform Europe’s agricultural landscape. As well as this, the TSSG has signed a memorandum of understanding with UCC’s Tyndall National Institute to target €82 million in EU funding to support 10 IoT start-ups. Downes said TSSG is determined to establish much closer links between science and industry. “Our people are scientists with an industry focus who have the ability to solve problems for industry.” WIT is launching a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in the Internet of Things, aimed at grasping the IoT opportunity. It will explore the software and devices that are changing the way we live, work and interact. “We believe passionately about this and there is a great opportunity for Ireland to create lots of technology in this space,” Downes said. He said that one of the challenges with IoT is it requires a broad scope of expertise ranging from electrical engineering to coding to having knowledge of microelectronics. “We want to create graduates who have that capability to solve internet of things problems end-to-end, whether it is through building a sensor, connecting it to the internet and building the software to connect it to other systems.”