Arduino in college: The most popular questions

There is a lot of students asking about Arduino in college. That happens for many stem majors, such as electrical or mechanical engineering. So, in this article, we’re going to respond to the most popular questions about Arduino use in college.

So, if you want to know how Arduino is used in college, this article is for you.

knowing Arduino helps in college?

knowing or learning Arduino is one of the best decisions to make as a stem student. It will prepare and help a college student to understand fast, better, and deeper the basics of engineering.

knowing Arduino in college will widen your vision to many different things. Also, allowing you to know yourself better. So easily choose your specialty.

Arduino teaches you mechatronics in general. In mechatronics, you will learn the 3 pillars of the stem field, Mechanical and electrical engineering. In addition, programming. So the student will know where he is going.

In Arduino, you learn the foundational language for programming C and C++. Once you understand the concept of this language. You won’t find any problem with any language.

For people who want to learn embedded systems, Arduino is the best startup. You learn electronics and programming at the same time. Arduino hobbyists could be more brilliant and performant students compared to their peers in college.

Also for people who want to work in IoT(internet of things), it’s a foundational start. Arduino allows you to make and craft your own IoT projects at affordable prices. It is cheap and relevant.

In robotics, Arduino is a great opportunity to learn the basics of this field. With Arduino, you could build a variety of robotics projects with a limited budget.

It introduces college students to the robotics engineering field. Owning Arduino is like having two labs one in class and the second in the room.

learning Arduino is learning the priceless prerequisite skills for today’s jobs. you could begin with Arduino and become.

  • programmer
  • electrical engineer
  • mechatronics engineer
  • IoT developer
  • PCB designer
  • robotics engineer and so on

In which college degrees Arduino programming is taught?

Arduino is not included in any engineering field. There is no such thing as an Arduino subject. But, students study things that everyone learns from Arduino. They study C and C++ programming. Also, electronics, mechanics, and electricity.

Students don’t use a lot Arduino IDE because it is so simple. Arduino has an inner layer of functions that facilitate programming. So students go deeper and learn in detail all processes that Arduino IDE facilitates.

In most cases, robotics clubs use Arduino to conduct workshops for beginners to teach the fundamentals of programming and electronics.

In addition, Arduino has a lot of libraries. Consequently, that facilitates the implementation of sensors and board extension. It’s an amazing tool that makes mechatronics projects easier.

Arduino is the first step process to go for college students. But, it is not a tool to make a commercial project.

As a recommendation for a stem student or everyone who wants to go into this domain. The first thing is, to begin with, Arduino then dive deeper into advanced levels. For instance, studying AVR or PIC.

So, there is no such thing as an Arduino subject or field. But, If you love Arduino it is likely that you have to graduate in embedded systems or robotics.

Do engineering colleges teach Arduino?

Engineers colleges don’t teach Arduino, but they teach fields where Arduino stems like embedded systems and electronics. When we talk about embedded systems we say, Arduino. Arduino is an example of a simple embedded system board.

The same thing for electronics. Arduino facilitates and makes many robotics projects affordable for students and non-experienced people.

So students study more detailed and complicated things than Arduino.

Engineers study microcontrollers and microprocessors. The famous Arduino board has an Atmeg 328 which is a microcontroller. So if you find yourself studying microcontrollers remember that Arduino is based on.

Embedded programming concepts. It is an embedded system subject where you will learn how to code effectively. To clarify, make a code more efficient by increasing speed and lowering memory. So you won’t learn that in Arduino tutorials.

This method is based on writing codes that machines can recognize easily. Which increases the speed of machines.

Timers and interrupts. As a student in an embedded system, you will learn how to use registers and memory. That is to say, manage professionally the space you have. Also, learn how to run properly your microcontroller.

In electronics engineers study the electronics components like resistors, transistors, relays, and so on. They build useful projects and systems using these components.

To summarise, in college, you will study electronics and the basics of circuits then combine them with programming. So this is how machines are made. But, Arduino alone is not enough to understand what is beyond the scenes.

Is learning Arduino beneficial for electrical engineering students?

Firmly yes, Arduino is the best option to start, as an electrical engineer. It gives you the foundation to go much deeper in this field. It is cheap and open source. Moreover, it has a big community on the internet.

So, you will not be stuck in problems with Arduino. You could find immediately a response on the internet.

Learning C and C++ language basics are one of the best good things in Arduino. Simply because C and C++ are the number one languages adopted in electrical engineering. Thus, is a pillar of the electrical field.

So for beginners or starters, Arduino is the best tool to start with. You will learn the basics and make fun projects. For instance robotics and IoT projects. Then you could go ahead and study advanced tools.

So, having knowledge of programming before going into this field is an intelligent strategy. It going to make things easier and allow you to advance quickly in electrical engineering programs.

The beauty of Arduino is it teaches you mechatronics. As a result, it holds 3 specialties together Mechanics, electricity, and programming.

Also, it is a great tool to experiment with projects with a lower budget. It also helps you make projects in record times based on his included libraries.

So, if you are an electrical engineering student and you don’t know how to program. Arduino is the best kit to learn with. Nobody could deny that.

How is Arduino useful to a mechanical engineer?

Nowadays mechanical engineers make a lot of projects. They also get involved in multi-disciplinary projects. So, many of them use Arduino to learn to code which allows them to easily build their mechanical prototypes.

They say that Arduino allows them to build and test many idea projects in a short amount of time.

They think that learning Arduino makes them valuable in their space. Mechanical engineering doesn’t work alone. So, it is necessary to have some background in electronics and programming. Consequently, Arduino helps to build.

They don’t have to dive down into details. Arduino offers simple following and powerful libraries that make it easier to build.

Mechanical engineering engages in many projects where Arduino can help. like:

There is no limit to how Arduino could help mechanical engineers.

using Arduino reduces costs and time. For example, if you want to build a mechanical project and you need to program your system. So you need to hire someone in automation and buy an expensive PLC.

That could cost you hundreds of dollars and maybe thousands. Moreover, losing time and not having flexibility.

Arduino gives a second option. just learning some principal basics of programming could be enough. At the same time, you will have more freedom and flexibility to do what you want.

Which branch of engineering involves Arduino programming?

There is no branch of engineering that involves Arduino programming. Arduino is not a specific kind of programming language like java or Python. Arduino is an environment made to simplify coding for beginners.

if you want to know more about this topic you could find the response. Just go back above to the question :

“In which college degrees Arduino programming is taught?”.

So will know the details.

How is Arduino useful to an electrical engineering student?

For an electrical engineer, Arduino helps to make a lot of activities and projects. Due to its, simplicity and flexibility, Arduino reduces a lot of time and effort. Arduino allows electrical engineers to build respectful projects with modest knowledge.

This is why Arduino is famous. It makes the HARD, simple, and understandable.

It is a good start to use Arduino for electrical engineering students. Because it gives them the foundation of electronics and programming. Moreover, help them to combine easily mechanics, electronics, and programming.

In their beginning stages student could use Arduino for many projects. There are many electrical project ideas they could apply from home. As a result, increase their experience in electronics and automation.

Conclusion

learning Arduino before, or in college is the best start. This is the best choice. But depending only on Arduino will not make you an engineer. You have to go to the next level and challenge yourself.

If you are serious and want to build your career around this stuff. I will offer you below, The best advice and track to follow if you want to build a great career.

So you have to learn:

  • the basics of math (algebra,diff, calculus)
  • the basics of electronics.
  • C language basics
  • Arduino
  • microcontrollers AVR or PIC
  • python.
  • raspberry.
  • data structure & algorithms.

Completing these levels will put you in a respectful position. Also, offer you great job opportunities in the market

yassin.ajanif

Yassin ajanif is a physics graduate and electromechanical engineer width more than 5 years in the field. My goal and my team are to share our experience to help you succeed in your career as a stem major. we talk about all tips, problems, and struggle STEM students face in their career and how to overcome them.