Collaborative projects allow engineering students to learn from one another and improve the skills necessary for working in a team. We conducted a study in the Spring of 2018 in which 12 Spanish students studying industrial engineering and 12 Indian students studying computer engineering worked together in small teams to solve projects on digital electronic systems. The objective of the study was to provide an opportunity to the students to develop interdisciplinary solutions to real‐world problems and work in diverse and multisite teams. The projects were related to the smart home, smart lighting, assisting elderly people, automated car washing, remote‐controlled car, and automated irrigation system. Each team had to frame a problem statement, design a solution, simulate the solution using appropriate software, implement the solution in hardware and prepare a report. The students used Autodesk simulator for simulating and optimizing their solutions. There was an emphasis on making optimal use of sensors and actuators in each project. The students finally implemented their solution using Arduino‐based hardware. The instructors and students collaborated through e‐mail, cloud tools, and video conferencing during the study. The students had to complete the project in 5 weeks. They spent almost equal time on software simulation and hardware implementation. In a survey conducted at the end of the study, the students said that they had no problem in using the tools and in communicating with teammates from the other country, and they had an overall positive learning experience. This resulted in better motivation among students and a higher average grade.

中文翻译：

---

使用开源工具的数字电子系统国际合作项目

协作项目允许工程专业​​的学生互相学习并提高团队合作所需的技能。我们在 2018 年春季进行了一项研究，其中 12 名学习工业工程的西班牙学生和 12 名学习计算机工程的印度学生以小组形式合作解决数字电子系统项目。该研究的目的是为学生提供一个机会，为现实世界的问题开发跨学科的解决方案，并在多元化和多站点团队中工作。这些项目涉及智能家居、智能照明、助老、自动洗车、遥控汽车和自动灌溉系统。每个团队都必须制定问题陈述，设计解决方案，使用适当的软件模拟解决方案，在硬件中实施解决方案并准备报告。学生们使用 Autodesk 模拟器来模拟和优化他们的解决方案。每个项目都强调优化使用传感器和执行器。学生们最终使用基于 Arduino 的硬件实现了他们的解决方案。在学习期间，教师和学生通过电子邮件、云工具和视频会议进行协作。学生必须在 5 周内完成该项目。他们在软件仿真和硬件实现上花费的时间几乎相等。在研究结束时进行的一项调查中，学生们表示他们在使用工具和与来自其他国家的队友交流方面没有问题，并且总体上获得了积极的学习体验。这导致了学生更好的动力和更高的平均成绩。